Are Patients at Veterans Affairs Medical Centers Sicker?

Major lower extremity amputation in Veterans Affairs medical centers.

Our objective was to assess outcomes for 8696 patients who underwent 9236 above- (AKA) and/or below-knee (BKA) amputations during a 4-year period for disorders of the circulatory system. Veterans Affairs (VA) Patient Treatment File (PTF) data were acquired for all patients in Diagnosis Related Groups (DRGs) 113 and 114 hospitalized in VA medical centers (VAMCs) during fiscal years 1991-1994. Da...

Preoperative urine cultures at a veterans affairs medical center.

T he value of preoperative urine screening is unproven, except before urologic procedures, in which detection and treatment of asymptomatic bacteriuria is beneficial. Despite this, authors of multiple small case series advocate for screening before nonurologic procedures. However, patients with detected bacteriuria may undergo further testing and, if prescribed antimicrobial drugs, can develop ...

Sevoflurane use in Veterans Affairs medical centers: utility, safety, and cost-effectiveness.

It has long been realized that the Veterans Affairs (VA) patient has a high incidence of multiorgan system diseases, especially diseases of the pulmonary and cardiovascular systems. The typical Birmingham VA Medical Center patient presenting for surgery is male, with a national mean age of 60 years. More than one half of these patients have a significant history of current or prior tobacco abus...

Extraction of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Data from the Nation’s Veterans Affairs Medical Centers

Impact of race/ethnicity on laryngeal cancer in patients treated at a Veterans Affairs Medical Center.

OBJECTIVES/HYPOTHESIS Black patients generally present with advanced head and neck cancer resulting in decreased survival. The objective of this study was to determine whether equal access to laryngeal cancer care in a tertiary care Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center would result in similar survival for white and black patients. STUDY DESIGN Retrospective chart review. METHODS Patient and...