Ascension Health

About: Ascension Health is a healthcare organization based out in St Louis, Missouri, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Health care & Medicine. The organization has 170 authors who have published 173 publications receiving 4230 citations.

Comparison of transmyocardial revascularization with medical therapy in patients with refractory angina.

Abstract: Background Transmyocardial revascularization involves the creation of channels in the myocardium with a laser to relieve angina. We compared the safety and efficacy of transmyocardial revascularization performed with a holmium laser with those of medical therapy in patients with refractory class IV angina (according to the criteria of the Canadian Cardiovascular Society). Methods In a prospective study conducted between March 1996 and July 1998 at 18 centers, 275 patients with medically refractory class IV angina and coronary disease that could not be treated with percutaneous or surgical revascularization were randomly assigned to receive transmyocardial revascularization followed by continued medical therapy (132 patients) or medical therapy alone (143 patients). Results After one year of follow-up, 76 percent of the patients who had undergone transmyocardial revascularization had improvement in angina (a reduction of two or more classes), as compared with 32 percent of the patients who received medical...

Teamwork in the operating room: Frontline perspectives among hospitals and operating room personnel

Abstract: Background:The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations is proposing that hospitals measure culture beginning in 2007. However, a reliable and widely used measurement tool for the operating room (OR) setting does not currently exist.Methods:OR personnel in 60 US hospitals were s

Consensus recommendations for gastric emptying scintigraphy: a joint report of the American Neurogastroenterology and Motility Society and the Society of Nuclear Medicine.

Abstract: This consensus statement from the members of the American Neurogastroenterology and Motility Society and the Society of Nuclear Medicine recommends a standardized method for measuring gastric emptying (GE) by scintigraphy. A low-fat, egg-white meal with imaging at 0, 1, 2, and 4 h after meal ingestion, as described by a published multicenter protocol, provides standardized information about normal and delayed GE. Adoption of this standardized protocol will resolve the lack of uniformity of testing, add reliability and credibility to the results, and improve the clinical utility of the GE test.

Association of Race With Mortality Among Patients Hospitalized With Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) at 92 US Hospitals.

Abstract: Importance While current reports suggest that a disproportionate share of US coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases and deaths are among Black residents, little information is available regarding how race is associated with in-hospital mortality. Objective To evaluate the association of race, adjusting for sociodemographic and clinical factors, on all-cause, in-hospital mortality for patients with COVID-19. Design, Setting, and Participants This cohort study included 11 210 adult patients (age ≥18 years) hospitalized with confirmed severe acute respiratory coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) between February 19, 2020, and May 31, 2020, in 92 hospitals in 12 states: Alabama (6 hospitals), Maryland (1 hospital), Florida (5 hospitals), Illinois (8 hospitals), Indiana (14 hospitals), Kansas (4 hospitals), Michigan (13 hospitals), New York (2 hospitals), Oklahoma (6 hospitals), Tennessee (4 hospitals), Texas (11 hospitals), and Wisconsin (18 hospitals). Exposures Confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection by positive result on polymerase chain reaction testing of a nasopharyngeal sample. Main Outcomes and Measures Death during hospitalization was examined overall and by race. Race was self-reported and categorized as Black, White, and other or missing. Cox proportional hazards regression with mixed effects was used to evaluate associations between all-cause in-hospital mortality and patient characteristics while accounting for the random effects of hospital on the outcome. Results Of 11 210 patients with confirmed COVID-19 presenting to hospitals, 4180 (37.3%) were Black patients and 5583 (49.8%) were men. The median (interquartile range) age was 61 (46 to 74) years. Compared with White patients, Black patients were younger (median [interquartile range] age, 66 [50 to 80] years vs 61 [46 to 72] years), were more likely to be women (2259 [49.0%] vs 2293 [54.9%]), were more likely to have Medicaid insurance (611 [13.3%] vs 1031 [24.7%]), and had higher median (interquartile range) scores on the Neighborhood Deprivation Index (−0.11 [−0.70 to 0.56] vs 0.82 [0.08 to 1.76]) and the Elixhauser Comorbidity Index (21 [0 to 44] vs 22 [0 to 46]). All-cause in-hospital mortality among hospitalized White and Black patients was 23.1% (724 of 3218) and 19.2% (540 of 2812), respectively. After adjustment for age, sex, insurance, comorbidities, neighborhood deprivation, and site of care, there was no statistically significant difference in risk of mortality between Black and White patients (hazard ratio, 0.93; 95% CI, 0.80 to 1.09). Conclusions and Relevance Although current reports suggest that Black patients represent a disproportionate share of COVID-19 infections and death in the United States, in this study, mortality for those able to access hospital care did not differ between Black and White patients after adjusting for sociodemographic factors and comorbidities.