Jensen, Teresa B.

Background National guidelines recommend that waist circumference (WC) be measured in patients with a body mass index (BMI) 27–35 kg/m2. Unfortunately, perhaps due to logistical reasons, WC is seldom measured in clinical settings. Herein, we describe the performance of a self-operated waist measurement device (SOWMD) as a potential means to overcome barriers to measuring WC. Materials and methods Ten volunteers underwent WC measures by professionals and SOWMD on 5 separate days to assess the reproducibility and accuracy. We then compared SOWMD measures with CT-derived fat content by recruiting 81 patients scheduled for a diagnostic abdominal CT scan. Results There was no difference between professionally measured and SOWMD-measured WC; the intraindividual coefficient of variation over the 5 days was between 0.4% and 2.2%. The WC measured manually, by SOWMD and CT scan were highly correlated (r=0.90–0.92, all p<0.001). The minimal WC measured by SOWMD was a better predictor (r=0.81 for all patients, r=0.87 for men, both p<0.001) of CT-measured visceral adipose tissue volume than other approaches. The minimal WC measured by SOWMD was correlated with fasting plasma glucose (r=0.40, p<0.05), triglyceride (r=0.41, p<0.01) and high-density cholesterol (r=−0.49, p<0.001) concentrations. Conclusion SOWMD is a reproducible, accurate and convenient way to measure WC that can provide added value for health care providers when combined with BMI information.

Background Patients often present to emergency departments (EDs) with concerns that do not require emergency care. Self-triage and other interventions may help some patients decide whether they should be seen in the ED. Symptoms associated with low risk of hospitalization can be identified in national ED data and can inform the design of interventions to reduce avoidable ED visits. Methods We used the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NHAMCS) data from the United States National Health Care Statistics (NHCS) division of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The ED datasets from 2011 through 2020 were combined. Primary reasons for ED visit and the binary field for hospital admission from the ED were used to estimate the proportion of ED patients admitted to the hospital for each reason for visit and age category. Results There were 221,027 surveyed ED visits during the 10-year data collection with 736 different primary reasons for visit and 23,228 hospitalizations. There were 145 million estimated hospitalizations from 1.37 billion estimated ED visits (10.6%). Inclusion criteria for this study were reasons for visit which had at least 30 ED visits in the sample; there were 396 separate reasons for visit which met this criteria. Of these 396 reasons for visit, 97 had admission percentages less than 2% and another 52 had hospital admissions estimated between 2% and 4%. However, there was a significant increase in hospitalizations within many of the ED reasons for visit in older adults. Conclusion Reasons for visit from national ED data can be ranked by hospitalization risk. Low-risk symptoms may help healthcare institutions identify potentially avoidable ED visits. Healthcare systems can use this information to help manage potentially avoidable ED visits with interventions designed to apply to their patient population and healthcare access.

Background Although online self-triage is easily accessible, little is known about the patients who use self-triage or their subsequent diagnoses. We compared ear/hearing self-triage subsequent diagnoses to ear/hearing visit diagnoses in emergency departments (ED) and ambulatory clinics across the United States. Methods We compared International Classification of Diseases version 10 (ICD10) coded diagnoses following online self-triage for ear/hearing concerns with those from national ED and ambulatory clinic samples. We used data from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NHAMCS) and National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NAMCS) for comparison. Using matched ear/hearing diagnostic categories for those aged 1 and over, we compared self-triage diagnosis frequencies with national ED and ambulatory diagnosis frequencies. Results Following ear/hearing self-triage, there were 1092 subsequent office visits with a primary diagnosis code. For five frequently diagnosed ear/hearing conditions (i.e., suppurative and nonsuppurative otitis media [OM], otalgia, otitis externa, and cerumen impaction), there was a strong correlation between diagnosis counts made following self-triage and estimated counts of national ED visit diagnoses (r = 0.94; CI 95% [0.37 to 0.99]; p = .016, adjusted r2 = 0.85). Seven diagnoses were available to compare with the national ambulatory sample; correlation was r = 0.79; CI 95% [0.08 to 0.97]; p = .037, adjusted r2 = 0.54. For ages 1 and over, estimated hospital admissions from the national ED visits for ear/hearing were 0.76%, CI 95% [0.28-2.1%]; estimated total national ear/hearing ED visits were 7.5 million (for 4 years, 2016 through 2019). Conclusion The strong correlation of ear-related self-triage diagnoses with national ED diagnoses and the low hospitalization risk for these diagnoses suggests that there is an opportunity for self-triage of ear/hearing concerns to decrease ED visits for these symptoms.

Background Self-triage is becoming more widespread, but little is known about the people who are using online self-triage tools and their outcomes. For self-triage researchers, there are significant barriers to capturing subsequent healthcare outcomes. Our integrated healthcare system was able to capture subsequent healthcare utilization of individuals who used self-triage integrated with self-scheduling of provider visits. Methods We retrospectively examined healthcare utilization and diagnoses after patients had used self-triage and self-scheduling for ear or hearing symptoms. Outcomes and counts of office visits, telemedicine interactions, emergency department visits, and hospitalizations were captured. Diagnosis codes associated with subsequent provider visits were dichotomously categorized as being associated with ear or hearing concerns or not. Nonvisit care encounters of patient-initiated messages, nurse triage calls, and clinical communications were also captured. Results For 2168 self-triage uses, we were able to capture subsequent healthcare encounters within 7 days of the self-triage for 80.5% (1745/2168). In subsequent 1092 office visits with diagnoses, 83.1% (891/1092) of the uses were associated with relevant ear, nose and throat diagnoses. Only 0.24% (4/1662) of patients with captured outcomes were associated with a hospitalization within 7 days. Self-triage resulted in a self-scheduled office visit in 7.2% (126/1745). Office visits resulting from a self-scheduled visit had significantly fewer combined non-visit care encounters per office visit (fewer combined nurse triage calls, patient messages, and clinical communication messages) than office visits that were not self-scheduled (−0.51; 95% CI, −0.72 to −0.29; P < .0001). Conclusion In an appropriate healthcare setting, self-triage outcomes can be captured in a high percentage of uses to examine for safety, patient adherence to recommendations, and efficiency of self-triage. With the ear or hearing self-triage, most uses had subsequent visit diagnoses relevant to ear or hearing, so most patients appeared to be selecting the appropriate self-triage pathway for their symptoms.

The study aim was to test hypotheses informed by self-determination theory (SDT) regarding associations of adolescent motivators for weight loss and family feeding practices on understanding adolescent weight management and dietary behaviors. Adolescents (n = 71) with obesity were recruited from a large medical center in the Midwest USA and completed questionnaire assessments via an online survey. Results supported hypotheses that endorsement of health motivators for weight loss, conceptualized as autonomous (intrinsic) motivation, and positive family support would be associated with healthier weight management practices and dietary behaviors. Nuanced findings related to social- and self-esteem-related motivators for weight loss indicated a need for further understanding of these weight-loss motivators in the context of SDT. The current study findings highlight the importance of addressing motivational factors and family influences in research and practice related to promoting healthy dietary habits and weight management strategies among adolescents with obesity.

Introduction Acute sore throat is a common complaint traditionally completed with an in-person visit. However, non-face-to-face telemedicine visits offer greater access at reduced cost. We evaluated patient/caregiver asynchronous text-based electronic visits (eVisits) for acute sore throat and whether there was concordance for individual components and total McIsaac score compared to a clinician’s assessment. eVisits were completed by patients and/or their caregivers via a secure patient portal. Methods In this retrospective study, we manually reviewed charts between February 2017 and July 2019 of patients who had an eVisit, in-person visit and group A streptococcal (GAS) test performed on the same day for an acute sore throat. We calculated a McIsaac score for eVisits and in-person visits, and compared each component and total score using Cohen’s kappa agreement statistic. Results There were 320 instances of patients who had an eVisit, in-person visit and GAS testing done on the same day. Approximately a third of eVisits were missing at least one McIsaac component, with the physical examination elements missing most commonly. Individual score congruence was moderate for cough (0.41), fair for fever (0.34) and slight for tonsillar swelling/exudate and lymphadenopathy (0.17 and 0.08, respectively), with total congruence being slight to fair (0.09–0.37). A McIsaac score of ≤1 showed moderate agreement (0.44). Visits with complete individual score components demonstrated improved congruence: substantial for cough (0.64), moderate for fever (0.57), fair for tonsillar swelling (0.3) and slight for lymphadenopathy (0.13). Discussion Overall agreement for individual score components was better for symptoms than it was for examination components, and was improved when data were complete. A McIsaac score of 1 or 0 had moderate agreement and thus could reasonably be safely used to exclude patients from GAS testing.

The quality of student life in combined baccalaureate-M.D. degree programs has rarely been investigated although these programs address widely recognized problems in medical education. Through the use of an environmental stress inventory, 183 students' perceptions of the learning environment of a combined-degree program were examined. Students in that program rated few situations in their environment as stressful. Yet, they were significantly concerned about information overload and attendant time problems, just as their peers in 4-yr. schools were. Unlike their 4-yr. counterparts, however, they did not see relations with other students and faculty as problematic. Their scores on the inventory were best predicted at each year level by a combination of personal characteristics, notably living arrangements, sex, and to a lesser extent, introversion.

OBJECTIVE. We examined the effect of activity-enhancing screen devices on children's energy expenditure compared with performing the same activities while seated. Our hypothesis was that energy expenditure would be significantly greater when children played activity-promoting video games, compared with sedentary video games. METHODS. Energy expenditure was measured for 25 children aged 8 to 12 years, 15 of whom were lean, while they were watching television seated, playing a traditional video game seated, watching television while walking on a treadmill at 1.5 miles per hour, and playing activity-promoting video games. RESULTS. Watching television and playing video games while seated increased energy expenditure by 20 ± 13% and 22 ± 12% above resting values, respectively. When subjects were walking on the treadmill and watching television, energy expenditure increased by 138 ± 40% over resting values. For the activity-promoting video games, energy expenditure increased by 108 ± 40% with the EyeToy (Sony Computer Entertainment) and by 172 ± 68% with Dance Dance Revolution Ultramix 2 (Konami Digital Entertainment). CONCLUSIONS. Energy expenditure more than doubles when sedentary screen time is converted to active screen time. Such interventions might be considered for obesity prevention and treatment.