OBJECTIVE Spa therapy is commonly used in the treatment of daily chronic diseases practice, but its benefits are still the subjects of discussion. This study investigates possible effects of a combined spa and physical therapy program on pain and hemodynamic responses in various chronic diseases. METHODS The pain intensity and hemodynamic responses of 472 patients involved in a spa and physic...

INTRODUCTION The diabetes hospitalization rate for the region along the U.S. side of the U.S.-Mexico border is unknown, a situation that could limit the success of the Healthy Border 2010 program. To remedy this problem, we analyzed and compared hospital discharge data for Arizona, California, and Texas for the year 2000 and calculated the diabetes hospitalization rates. METHODS We obtained h...

PURPOSE Inpatient rehabilitation improves dyspnea and increases self-esteem between admission and discharge in patients with moderate chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Some researchers nevertheless argue that the changes may be due to nursing effects and thus that scores will decrease quickly at home after discharge. This study assessed the change in dyspnea, self-esteem and physica...

Objective We applied a program of sleep education and hypnotics reduction for inpatients (the i-sleep program). This study explored whether the i-sleep program is effective for reducing the prescription rate of sleeping pills to inpatients in a general hospital. Methods We estimated the proportion of inpatients prescribed hypnotics at admission to and discharge from the hospital, excluding pe...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Get With The Guidelines (GWTG)-Stroke is a national, hospital-based quality improvement program developed by the American Heart Association. Although studies have suggested improved processes of care in GWTG-Stroke-participating hospitals, it is not known whether this improved care translates into improved clinical outcomes compared with nonparticipating hospitals. METH...

OBJECTIVE To assess the safety of hospital discharge 24 hours after laparoscopic radical prostatectomy and to identify possible factors associated with longer hospital stays. MATERIAL AND METHODS Retrospective study of patients diagnosed with localized prostate cancer underwent to laparoscopic radical prostatectomy consecutively between May of 2007 and December of 2010. Those patients who met...

BACKGROUND Older patients are at high risk for poor outcomes after acute hospital admission. The mortality rate in these patients is approximately 20%, whereas 30% of the survivors decline in their level of activities of daily living (ADL) functioning three months after hospital discharge. Most diseases and geriatric conditions that contribute to poor outcomes could be subject to pro-active int...

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy and feasibility of an enhanced heart failure (HF) education with a 6-month telephone follow- up program in post-discharge ambulatory HF patients. METHODS The Hit-Point trial was a multicenter, randomized, controlled trial of enhanced HF education with a 6-month telephone follow-up program (EHFP) vs routine care (RC) in patients with H...