Bottom line: Routine post-pneumonia chest radiographs for lung cancer screening have low diagnostic yield that is only marginally improved by selecting high-risk populations.
Citation: Tang KL, Eurich DT, Minhas-Sandhu JK, Marrie TJ, Majumdar SR. Incidence, correlates, and chest radiographic yield of new lung cancer diagnosis in 3398 patients with pneumonia. Arch Intern Med. 2011;171:1193-1198.
Hospitalist Care Shifts Costs to the Outpatient Environment
Clinical question: How does hospitalist care affect medical utilization costs after hospital discharge?
Background: The number of patients cared for by hospitalists is growing rapidly. Some studies have shown hospitalists to decrease length of stay and inpatient costs. The impact of shorter hospitalization on outpatient medical utilization and costs is not known.
Study design: Population-based national cohort.
Setting: Hospitalized Medicare patients.
Synopsis: In this study of 58,125 Medicare admissions at 454 hospitals, hospitalist care was associated with a 0.64-day shorter adjusted length of stay and $282 lower hospital charges compared with patients cared for by their primary-care physicians (PCPs). This was offset by $332 higher Medicare spending in the 30 days following hospitalization. Patients cared for by hospitalists were less likely to be discharged home (OR 0.82, 95% CI, 0.78-0.86), and were more likely to require emergency department visits (OR 1.18, 95% CI, 1.12-1.24) and readmissions (OR 1.08, 95% CI, 1.02-1.14). The authors postulate that shorter length of stay associated with hospitalist care is achieved at the expense of shifting costs to the outpatient environment. The discharged patients are sicker and, as a result, require more skilled care and repeat hospital visits.
Bottom line: Hospitalist care may be associated with higher overall costs and more medical utilization.
Citation: Kuo YF, Goodwin JS. Association of hospitalist care with medical utilization after discharge: evidence of cost shift from a cohort study. Ann Intern Med. 2011;155:152-159.
Stopping Smoking at Any Time before Surgery Is Safe
Clinical question: Is smoking cessation within eight weeks of surgery safe?
Background: Smoking cessation before surgery can decrease the risk of surgical complications. However, several studies found increased risk for perioperative complications when smoking was stopped within eight weeks of surgery. These findings created uncertainty about general safety of tobacco cessation counseling before surgery.
Study design: Systematic review and meta-analysis.
Setting: Smokers undergoing any type of surgery.
Synopsis: The authors identified nine studies involving 889 patients that compared smokers who quit within eight weeks of surgery with those who continued to smoke. There was considerable heterogeneity in the studies but no overall difference in perioperative complications between those who quit smoking and those who continued to smoke (OR 0.78, 95% CI, 0.57-1.07). The subset of studies examining pulmonary complications also found no difference (OR 1.18, 95% CI, 0.95-1.46).
Bottom line: Smoking cessation at any time before surgery appears to be safe.
Citation: Myers K, Hajek P, Hinds C, McRobbie H. Stopping smoking shortly before surgery and postoperative complications: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Arch Intern Med. 2011;171:983-989.
Hospitalization for Infection Increases Risk of Stroke
Clinical question: Can infection act as a precipitant for acute ischemic stroke?
Background: Little is known about precipitants of acute ischemic stroke. Severe infections have been shown to promote hypercoagulability and platelet activation, and to induce endothelial dysfunction. Authors postulated that infections severe enough to warrant hospitalization might transiently increase the risk for stroke.
Study design: Case-crossover analysis of data from a multicenter prospective cohort (Cardiovascular Health Study).