Saint Francis University

About: Saint Francis University is a education organization based out in Loretto, Pennsylvania, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Osteoblast. The organization has 1694 authors who have published 2038 publications receiving 87149 citations.

Hispanic Inpatient Pain Intensity

Abstract: Hispanic adults experience significant pain, but little is known about their pain during hospitalization. The purpose of this research was to describe Hispanic inpatients’ pain intensity and compare their pain intensity with that of non-Hispanic patients. A post hoc descriptive design was used to examine 1,466 Hispanic inpatients’ medical records (63.2% English speakers) and 12,977 non-Hispanic inpatients’ medical records from one hospital for 2012. Mean documented pain intensity was mild for both Hispanic and non-Hispanic inpatients. Pain intensity was greater for English-speaking Hispanic patients than Spanish speakers. The odds of being documented with moderate or greater pain intensity decreased 30% for Spanish-speaking patients. Greater pain intensity documented for English-speaking Hispanic inpatients suggests underreporting of pain intensity by Spanish-speaking patients. Practitioners should use interpreter services when assessing and treating pain with patients who speak languages different from t...

Predicting COVID-19 Using Retrospective Data: Impact of Obesity on Outcomes of Adult Patients With Viral Pneumonia

Abstract: Background Community-acquired pneumonia due to viral pathogens is an under-recognized cause of healthcare-associated mortality and morbidity worldwide. We aimed to compare mortality rates and outcome measures of disease severity in obese vs non-obese patients admitted with viral pneumonia. Methods Adult patients admitted with viral pneumonia were selected from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample of 2016 and 2017. The arms were stratified based on the presence of a secondary discharge diagnosis of obesity. The primary outcome was inpatient mortality. Secondary outcomes included sepsis, acute respiratory failure, acute respiratory distress syndrome, acute kidney injury, and pulmonary embolism. Results and interpretation In total, 89,650 patients admitted with viral pneumonia were analyzed, and 17% had obesity. There was no significant difference in mortality between obese and non-obese patients (aOR: 0.98, 95% CI: 0.705 - 1.362, p < 0.001). Compared to non-obese patients, obese patients had higher adjusted odds of developing acute hypoxic respiratory failure (aOR: 1.37, 95% CI: 1.255 - 1.513, p < 0.001), acute respiratory distress syndrome (aOR: 2.29, 95% CI: 1.554 - 3.381, p < 0.001), need for mechanical ventilation (aOR: 1.50, 95% CI: 1.236 - 1.819, p < 0.001), and pulmonary embolism (aOR: 1.69, 95% CI: 1.024 - 2.788, p = 0.040). Conclusions Obesity was not found to be an independent predictor of inpatient mortality in patients admitted with viral pneumonia. However, obesity is associated with worse clinical outcomes and disease severity as defined by the presence of complications, greater incidence of acute respiratory failure (ARF), acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), need for mechanical ventilation, acute kidney injury (AKI), pulmonary embolism (PE), stroke, and sepsis.

Active tuberculosis in HIV-infected injecting drug users from a low-rate tuberculosis area.

Abstract: This article describes the features of active tuberculosis in HIV-infected injecting drug users (IDUs) from a low-rate tuberculosis area. The cohort was followed in a hospital-based HIV/AIDS registry, and data were extracted from the registry, patient charts, and the Tuberculosis Control Program of the Connecticut Health Department. The setting was an acute care inner-city hospital-based health care system, with a high incidence of AIDS, serving a small-to-medium urban area in Connecticut. The patients were 905 HIV-infected IDUs whose time of HIV diagnosis (TOHD) was between 1984 and 1992. The outcome measures were demographics, clinical characteristics, and morbidity rates of active tuberculosis. Of the 27 IDUs who developed active tuberculosis, none were white, all but one were male, and only one was known to have had a positive purified protein derivative (PPD) reaction prior to TOHD: 59% of cases developed in patients known to be HIV infected, 11% occurred in established AIDS patients, and 67% qualified as extrapulmonary tuberculosis (that is, AIDS defining by pre-1993 definitions). In 22% of cases, both Mycobacterium tuberculosis and M. avium-intracellulare were isolated. Mycobacterium tuberculosis was most commonly isolated from a respiratory specimen (67%). The annual incidence rate has been < or = 1.0% since 1988. The cumulative incidence rate was highest for patients with a positive PPD reaction or a history of tuberculosis (1.4 cases/100 patient years; 52 patients; mean follow-up 4.0 years). The demographics and clinical characteristics of active tuberculosis in our HIV-infected IDUs are similar to those described elsewhere in the United States; the morbidity rates are low and stable. The implications of our findings on tuberculosis control in HIV-infected IDUs may be applicable to health care systems with low tuberculosis rates.