Pregnancy-related Factors Responsible for Delivering Low Birth Weight Babies: An Institutional-based Cross-sectional Study, Jamnagar, Gujarat

BACKGROUND: The WHO defines LBW as Birth weight less than 2500 grams regardless of gestational age. Being born with a low birth weight also incurs enormous economic costs, including higher medical expenditures and social service expenses, and decreased productivity in adulthood. OBJECTIVE: To study distribution of newborns\u27 according to pregnancy related factors and its association with newborns\u27 birth weight. METHODS: An institutional based cross-sectional study. New-borns delivered at study institute were considered as study participants. Estimated final sample size was 500. Guardians (mothers) were face-to-face interviewed and also recorded data were collected from the case file and Mother and Child Protection Card. RESULTS: Prevalence of LBW newborns was higher in mothers with late ANC registration,visits, chronic medical conditions, infection during pregnancy, PIH, anemia, consuming tobacco, exposure to second hand smoke, LSCS/Assisted delivery, in female newborns\u27, current pregnancy birth order number more than 2, in pre term newborns\u27 and mothers with bad obstetric history. CONCLUSION: Create awareness and adoption of suitable family planning methods. Need to do early (within 12 weeks) ANC registration with minimum four ANC visits for better pregnancy outcome. Effective tracking and suitable intervention provided to improve current pregnancy outcome. Health care professional should pay special attention to high-risk pregnancy. Develop social culture in such a way that females are neither addicted nor exposed to any tobacco containing products in their life

Impact of the Affordable Care Act on Colorectal Cancer Screening, Incidence, and Survival in Kentucky

Background Kentucky ranks first in the US in cancer incidence and mortality. Compounded by high poverty levels and a high rate of medically uninsured, cancer rates are even worse in Appalachian Kentucky. Being one of the first states to adopt the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Medicaid expansion, insurance coverage markedly increased for Kentucky residents. The purpose of our study was to determine the impact of Medicaid expansion on colorectal cancer (CRC) screening, diagnosis, and survival in Kentucky. Study Design The Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services and the Kentucky Cancer Registry were queried for individuals (≥20 years) undergoing CRC screening (per US Preventative Services Task-Force) or diagnosed with primary invasive CRC from January 1, 2011 to December 31, 2016. CRC screening rates, incidence, and survival were compared before (2011-2013) and after (2014-2016) ACA implementation. Results Colorectal cancer screening was performed in 930,176 individuals, and 11,441 new CRCs were diagnosed from 2011 to 2016. Screening for CRC increased substantially for Medicaid patients after ACA implementation (+230%, p \u3c 0.001), with a higher increase in screening among the Appalachian (+44%) compared with the non-Appalachian (+22%, p \u3c 0.01) population. The incidence of CRC increased after ACA implementation in individuals with Medicaid coverage (+6.7%, p \u3c 0.001). Additionally, the proportion of early stage CRC (stage I/II) increased by 9.3% for Appalachians (p = 0.09), while there was little change for non-Appalachians (−1.5%, p = 0.60). Colorectal cancer survival was improved after ACA implementation (hazard ratio 0.73, p \u3c 0.01), particularly in the Appalachian population with Medicaid coverage. Conclusions Implementation of Medicaid expansion led to a significant increase in CRC screening, CRC diagnoses, and overall survival in CRC patients with Medicaid, with an even more profound impact in the Appalachian population

White Paper: Space Sustainability Using Quantum Computing

This white paper discusses the problems associated with space debris and how Space Debris Removal Optimization can be formulated as a combination of two optimization problems (the Knapsack Problem and the Travelling Salesman Problem). This white paper also discusses how quantum computing can be applied to solve space debris problems through Space Debris Removal Optimization

A Nationwide Analysis of Outcomes of Weekend Admissions for Intracerebral Hemorrhage Shows Disparities Based on Hospital Teaching Status

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: With the weekend effect being well described, the Brain Attack Coalition released a set of best practice guidelines in 2005, with the goal to uniformly provide standard of care to patients with stroke. We attempted to define a weekend effect in outcomes among patients with intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) over the last decade, utilizing the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) data. We also attempted to analyze the trend of such an effect. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We determined the association of ICH weekend admissions with hospital outcomes including mortality, adverse discharge, length of stay, and cost compared to weekday admissions using multivariable logistic regression. We extracted our study cohort from the NIS, the largest all-payer data set in the United States. RESULTS: Of 485 329 ICH admissions from 2002 to 2011, 27.5% were weekend admissions. Overall, weekend admissions were associated with 11% higher odds of in-hospital mortality. When analyzed in 3-year groups, excess mortality of weekend admissions showed temporal decline. There was higher mortality with weekend admissions in nonteaching hospitals persisted (odds ratios 1.16, 1.13, and 1.09, respectively, for 3-year subgroups). Patients admitted during weekends were also 9% more likely to have an adverse discharge (odds ratio 1.09; 95% confidence interval: 1.07-1.11; P \u3c .001) with no variation by hospital status. There was no effect of a weekend admission on either length of stay or cost of care. CONCLUSION: Nontraumatic ICH admissions on weekends have higher in-hospital mortality and adverse discharge. This demonstrates need for in-depth review for elucidating this discrepancy and stricter adherence to standard-of-care guidelines to ensure uniform care

A Nationwide Analysis of Outcomes of Weekend Admissions for Intracerebral Hemorrhage Shows Disparities Based on Hospital Teaching Status

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: With the “weekend effect” being well described, the Brain Attack Coalition released a set of “best practice” guidelines in 2005, with the goal to uniformly provide standard of care to patients with stroke. We attempted to define a “weekend effect” in outcomes among patients with intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) over the last decade, utilizing the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) data. We also attempted to analyze the trend of such an effect. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We determined the association of ICH weekend admissions with hospital outcomes including mortality, adverse discharge, length of stay, and cost compared to weekday admissions using multivariable logistic regression. We extracted our study cohort from the NIS, the largest all-payer data set in the United States. RESULTS: Of 485 329 ICH admissions from 2002 to 2011, 27.5% were weekend admissions. Overall, weekend admissions were associated with 11% higher odds of in-hospital mortality. When analyzed in 3-year groups, excess mortality of weekend admissions showed temporal decline. There was higher mortality with weekend admissions in nonteaching hospitals persisted (odds ratios 1.16, 1.13, and 1.09, respectively, for 3-year subgroups). Patients admitted during weekends were also 9% more likely to have an adverse discharge (odds ratio 1.09; 95% confidence interval: 1.07-1.11; P < .001) with no variation by hospital status. There was no effect of a weekend admission on either length of stay or cost of care. CONCLUSION: Nontraumatic ICH admissions on weekends have higher in-hospital mortality and adverse discharge. This demonstrates need for in-depth review for elucidating this discrepancy and stricter adherence to standard-of-care guidelines to ensure uniform care