Atlanta Medical Center

About: Atlanta Medical Center is a healthcare organization based out in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Hepatitis C & Hepatitis C virus. The organization has 313 authors who have published 389 publications receiving 11678 citations. The organization is also known as: Georgia Baptist Hospital & Atlanta Medical Center.

Hyperglycemia: An Independent Marker of In-Hospital Mortality in Patients with Undiagnosed Diabetes

Abstract: Admission hyperglycemia has been associated with increased hospital mortality in critically ill patients; however, it is not known whether hyperglycemia in patients admitted to general hospital wards is associated with poor outcome. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of in-hospital hyperglycemia and determine the survival and functional outcome of patients with hyperglycemia with and without a history of diabetes. We reviewed the medical records of 2030 consecutive adult patients admitted to Georgia Baptist Medical Center, a community teaching hospital in downtown Atlanta, GA, from July 1, 1998, to October 20, 1998. New hyperglycemia was defined as an admission or in-hospital fasting glucose level of 126 mg/dl (7 mmol/liter) or more or a random blood glucose level of 200 mg/dl (11.1 mmol/liter) or more on 2 or more determinations. Hyperglycemia was present in 38% of patients admitted to the hospital, of whom 26% had a known history of diabetes, and 12% had no history of diabetes before the admission. Newly discovered hyperglycemia was associated with higher in-hospital mortality rate (16%) compared with those patients with a prior history of diabetes (3%) and subjects with normoglycemia (1.7%; both P < 0.01). In addition, new hyperglycemic patients had a longer length of hospital stay, a higher admission rate to an intensive care unit, and were less likely to be discharged to home, frequently requiring transfer to a transitional care unit or nursing home facility. Our results indicate that in-hospital hyperglycemia is a common finding and represents an important marker of poor clinical outcome and mortality in patients with and without a history of diabetes. Patients with newly diagnosed hyperglycemia had a significantly higher mortality rate and a lower functional outcome than patients with a known history of diabetes or normoglycemia.

Principles of shock wave therapy.

Abstract: A shock wave is a transient pressure disturbance that propagates rapidly in three-dimensional space. It is associated with a sudden rise from ambient pressure to its maximum pressure. A significant tissue effect is cavitation consequent to the negative phase of the wave propagation. The current authors summarize the basic physics of shock waves and the physical parameters involved in assessing the amount of energy delivered to the target tissue and in comparing the various high- and low-energy devices being evaluated clinically for musculoskeletal applications.

Comparison of laparoscopic and open ventral herniorrhaphy.

Abstract: The repair of large and/or recurrent ventral hernias is associated with significant complications and a recurrence rate that can be more than 50 per cent. Laparoscopic ventral herniorrhaphy, a recent development, has been shown to be safe and effective in the repair of ventral hernias. This study retrospectively reviews all ventral hernia repairs over a 3-year period, November 1995 through December 1998, at a community-based teaching hospital. The purpose of the study was to compare open and laparoscopic repairs. A total of 253 ventral hernia repairs were performed during this time, 174 open and 79 laparoscopic. The age, weight, and sex distribution was similar for each group. The hernias in the open group averaged 34.1 cm2 in size, and mesh used averaged 47.3 cm2. In the laparoscopic group, the hernia defect averaged 73.0 cm2, and the mesh size averaged 287.4 cm2. Operative time was longer in the open group, 82.0 versus 58.0 minutes. In the open group, there were 38 (21.8%) minor and 8 (4.6%) major complications, compared with 13 (16.5%) minor and 2 (2.5%) major complications in the laparoscopic group. Hospital stay was shorter for the laparoscopic group, 1.7 versus 2.8 days. At an average follow-up of 21 months (range, 2-40 months), there have been 36 recurrences in the open group (20.7%) compared with 2 recurrences in the laparoscopic group (2.5%). In this series, laparoscopic ventral herniorrhaphy compares favorably to open ventral herniorrhaphy with respect to wound complications, hospital stay, operative time, and recurrence rate.