Toxic Gas Put 161 Workers of Jilin Chemical Fiber Plant in Hospital

A news briefing held on May 13 by local government in Jilin city of Jilin province released that 161 workers got sick symptoms as a result of their contact with an unidentified gas emitting from Jilin Chemical Fiber Group Corp.

Quality of life of hospitalized patients after lung cancer operation and analysis of influencing factors

Objective:To explore the current status and influencing factors of quality of life in patients with lung cancer after surgery in a tertiary hospital in Hainan province.Methods:To investigate the influencing factors of quality of life of lung cancer patients after surgery in a tertiary hospital in Hainan province by cross‑sectional survey method.Results:The scores of insomnia,appetite loss,constipation and pain in 186 lung cancer patients after surgery in a tertiary hospital in Hainan Province were significantly higher than the reference value.Multiple linear regression analysis showed that older patients(>60 years)had lower scores in physical function domain(β=-0.193),and female patients had more appetite loss symptoms(β=0.245).Compared with other minority ethnic groups,Han ethnic group had lower scores in role function domain(β=0.179),more severe fatigue symptoms(β=-0.162),and higher general health level(β=0.166).Patients with employee medical insurance had lower scores of emotional function(β=0.194),cognitive function(β=0.281),the lowest score in social function(β=0.188),and severe pain in other parts(β=-0.227).Smokers had less cough symptoms(β=0.175)and more arm and shoulder pain symptoms(β=-0.21)than non‑smokers.Patients with secondhand smoke exposure had lower cognitive function scores(β=-0.158)and more obvious symptoms of oral ulcer(β=0.185).Patients who drank alcohol frequently(drinking frequency>1 time/day)had more severe cough symptoms(β=0.27).Patients with small number of children(0‑1)had milder cough symptoms(β=0.178).Patients who did not understand the disease had obvious symptoms of arm and shoulder pain(β=0.151).Patients with early pathological stage(stageⅠ‑Ⅱ)had more severe shortness of breath(β=-0.159)and pain(β=-0.181).The symptoms of appetite loss were more obvious in patients living in cities(β=0.192).The symptoms of peripheral neuropathy were more obvious(β=0.174).Patients who often consumed pickulated food had severe pain symptoms(β=-0.219),and pain in other parts was obvious(β=-0.149).Male patients had obvious alopecia symptoms(β=-0.306).Conclusion:Age,ethnicity,residence,type of medical insurance,number of children,pathological stage of lung cancer,smoking,second‑hand smoke exposure,alcohol consumption,and frequent consumption of pickled food were related to the quality of life of lung cancer patients in hospital after surgery.Medical staff and family members should pay attention to the emotional communication of patients during the treatment of lung cancer patients in hospital after surgery.Patients should avoid exposure to smoking,alcohol and second‑hand smoke,and reduce consumption of pickled food.

Analysis of Length of Stay (LOS) Data from the Medical Records of Tertiary Care Hospital in Saudi Arabia for Five Diagnosis Related Groups: Application of Cox Prediction Model

Background: One of the main objectives of hospital managements is to control the length of stay (LOS). Successful control of LOS of inpatients will result in reduction in the cost of care, decrease in nosocomial infections, medication side effects, and better management of the limited number of available patients’ beds. The length of stay (LOS) is an important indicator of the efficiency of hospital management by improving the quality of treatment, and increased hospital profit with more efficient bed management. The purpose of this study was to model the distribution of LOS as a function of patient’s age, and the Diagnosis Related Groups (DRG), based on electronic medical records of a large tertiary care hospital. Materials and Methods: Information related to the research subjects were retrieved from a database of patients admitted to King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center hospital in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia between January 2014 and December 2016. Subjects’ confidential information was masked from the investigators. The data analyses were reported visually, descriptively, and analytically using Cox proportional hazard regression model to predict the risk of long-stay when patients’ age and the DRG are considered as antecedent risk factors. Results: Predicting the risk of long stay depends significantly on the age at admission, and the DRG to which a patient belongs to. We demonstrated the validity of the Cox regression model for the available data as the proportionality assumption is shown to be satisfied. Two examples were presented to demonstrate the utility of the Cox model in this regard.

Why the Partnership of OAT Italian Patients Association in Cosenza＇s Hospital Matters？

The activism of patients associations, in decision making, about health and social services, is an expanding phenomenon in Italy and elsewhere. But the civic roles of these patients associations, in health care settings, remain largely unexplored, especially in the case of patients assuming oral anticoagulant therapy （OAT Patients） for various chronic and severe diseases （stroke, chronic arthritis, maintenance or substitution of cardiac valves）. This is a qualitative study, on a Civic Health Organization, the Italian Association of Anti Coagulant Patients （Associazione ltaliana Pazienti Anticolagulati, hereinafter A.I.P.A.） which promotes the rights of OAT patients. The study was carried out in the south of Italy at Cosenza＇s Hospital. Cosenza is a city in the north of Calabria, a poor Southern Italian region. The research, done between March 2010 and December 2012, involved focus groups, key-informant interviews with volunteers from the local A.I.P.A. unit and the hospital professionals （physicians, nurses, managers） of Cosenza＇s Annunziata Hospital. This essay mainly analyzes a micro-form of co-deliberative health care democracy： a stable partnership between AIPA members and the cited hospital professionals, based on a mix of advocacy, planning, and co-delivery service roles. In doing this, the paper sketches the development, aims, activities, internal structure and resources, and the role played by this specific citizen-user/patient/career organization in promoting and/or representing the interests of anti-coagulated patients within the legal arena of the Italian health policy. Finally, the paper comes to the point in which OAT patients refer their perceptions of relational rights.

Red blood cell distribution width levels predict prolonged hospital stay for infants after cardiopulmonary bypass surgery

Background Thered cell distribution width(RDW)is a parameter that reflects the heterogeneity of red blood cell volume and size,and it is commonly used in the diagnosis of anemia in patients.RDW may serve as a predictor of the postoperative prognosis of surgical patients in the intensive care unit.This study evaluated the predictive capability of RDW for outcomes in infants after cardiopulmonary bypass surgery.Methods A retrospective cohort study was conducted at Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital enrolling infants(≤1 year)who underwent cardiac surgery between January 2019 and April 2019.The infants were divided into two groups based on their preoperative RDW levels(<14.5% and≥14.5%).The primary outcome measured was the prolonged hospital stay post-operation.The association between RDW levels and prolonged hospital length of stay was evaluated using multivariate Logistic regression,presenting the adjusted odds ratio with a 95%confidence interval(CI).Additionally,interaction and subgroup analyses were performed to assess the consistency of these correlations.Results A total of 186 infants were included in the study.After adjusting for potential confounders,multivariate logistic regression models demonstrated a significant association between RDW and prolonged length of stay(LOS)in hospital when treated as a continuous variable(change per 1SD,OR:1.50,95%CI:1.06-2.11,P=0.021).Categorizing RDW as a variable revealed that higher RDW levels(≥14.5%)were significantly associated with an increased risk of prolonged LOS compared to lower levels(<14.5%)(OR:9.72,95%CI:2.87-32.91,P<0.001).Receiver operating curves(ROC)analysis showed that RDW levels exhibited relatively higher diagnostic value for predicting prolonged LOS(AUC=0.697,95%CI:0.617-0.776,P<0.05).Stratified analyses further showed that depending on the variable testing,an association between higher RDW levels and prolonged hospital length of stay in different subgroups was observed.Conclusions Elevated RDW levels in infants undergoing cardiac surgery involving cardiopulmonary bypass may signify prolonged recovery periods.