Category: Hospital Medicine
From Observing Patients to Artwork: Medical Humanities Program seeks to Improve Clinical Observation in Internal Medicine Residents
Each morning, Internal Medicine residents take their seats for Morning Report, a case-based resident-led discussion in which Internal Medicine residents share patient case material, develop their diagnostic skills, and solve cases together. But, four or five times a year, instead of analyzing a patient, the residents are presented with classical music, poetry, or Renaissance era … Read more
Medicine Announces Value-Care Action Group Awardees for Next Academic Year
The Department of Medicine’s Value-Care Action Group has awarded four value-care improvement projects that will start in July, 2022. Awardees are listed below with overviews of their projects. Cody Deen, MD: A Chest Pain Transitions Clinic at UNC Hillsborough. The management of patients who present to the emergency department (ED) with acute chest pain is a clinical challenge tha … Read more
Medicine Providers Recognized For Rapid Response Excellence
The “Rapid Response Recognition Report” is a quarterly recognition of providers who are “remarkable examples of excellence” during rapid response events at UNCMC. Effective utilization of the Adult Rapid Response System at UNC Medical Center is essential in the early detection of clinically worsening patients to ensure necessary resources are mobilized and adverse outcomes preven … Read more
Department of Medicine Grants & Funding: September 1 – September 30, 2021
Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology Andrea Azcarate-Peril, PhD, received an NC TraCS pilot grant award. Division of Geriatric Medicine Joshua Niznik, PharmD, PhD, received an NC TraCS pilot grant award. UNC’s Center for Aging and Health received a two-year Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), Department of Health and Human Services grant (with University o … Read more
Medicine Researchers Receive NC TraCS Pilot Grant Awards
NC TraCS recently announced the recipients of new pilot grant awards, and five recipients are from the Department of Medicine. Following is a list of the recipients and their project titles. Andrea Azcarate-Peril, PhD (Associate Professor, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology) Project Title: Safety, Tolerability, and Biosignature of Humanized Prebiotics in Healthy Adults J … Read more
Raffs Receive NC TraCS Health Equity Research Award
Evan Raff, MD, associate professor of medicine in the division of hospital of medicine, and Lauren Raff, MD, assistant professor in the Department of Surgery, were awarded a NC TraCS Health Equity Award to improve rapid response outcomes in patients whose primary language is Spanish. The project “Reducing Health Inequities in the Rapid Response System for Hospitalized Patients th … Read more
Trends and Variation in Length of Stay Among Hospitalized Febrile Infants ≤ 60 Days Old
Researchers in recent studies have suggested that hospitalized febrile infants aged ≤60 days may be safely discharged if bacterial cultures are negative after 24–36 hours of incubation. John R. Stephens, MD, professor of medicine and pediatrics in the division of hospital medicine, is first author of a paper published online in Hospital Pediatrics, ahead of print, that described … Read more
Ascertaining Framingham Heart Failure Phenotype From Inpatient Electronic Health Record Data Using Natural Language Processing: a Multicentre Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Validation Study
Carlton Moore, MD, professor of medicine in the division of infectious diseases, is first author of a retrospective observational study design of patients hospitalized in 2015 from four hospitals participating in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study. Using free-text clinical notes and reports from hospitalized patients, the study team wanted to determine the perfo … Read more
Moore Leads Validation Study to Understand Performance of Natural Language Processing in Ascertaining Framingham Heart Failure
Carlton Moore, MD, is lead author of a study published in the British Medical Journal entitled “Ascertaining Framingham heart failure phenotype from inpatient electronic health record data using natural language processing: a multicentre Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) validation study.” The study used free-text clinical notes and reports from hospitalized patients to … Read more
IHQI Announces Improvement Scholars, Three From the Department of Medicine
The UNC Institute for Healthcare Quality Improvement has announced new projects that will be supported through the IHQI’s Improvement Scholars Program from Sep 1, 2021 – Aug 31, 2022. Congratulations to the following selected project leads from the Department of Medicine. Jaydeep Lamba, MD and Hillary Spangler, MD, division of hospital medicine: “Mitigating Inpatient Clinical De … Read more
Study Suggests Opportunities to Reduce Laboratory Overuse Across Conditions and Children’s Hospitals
John R. Stephens, MD, professor of medicine and pediatrics, in the division of hospital medicine, published “Outcomes Associated With High-Versus Low-Frequency Laboratory Testing Among Hospitalized Children” in Hospital Pediatrics. Previous pediatric studies have revealed substantial variation in laboratory testing for specific conditions, but clinical outcomes associated with hi … Read more
Spontaneous Pneumomediastinum in a Patient with COVID-19 Pneumonia
Naseem Alavian, MD, MPH, is lead author for a case study published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine. The article recognizes that spontaneous pneumomediastinum can occur in COVID-19 pneumonia in the absence of traditional risk factors, such as smoking, parenchymal lung disease, intubation, or positive pressure ventilation. Other authors include John Stephens, MD, and Da … Read more