Medication capsules scattered

Medication Reconciliation

Angie SzumlinskiMedication

I remember working on a skilled Medicare unit and dreading the end of each month when that stack of new MARs were delivered from the pharmacy. I remember it very clearly, no one made eye contact with each other for fear it would be your turn to reconcile the month-end medication and treatment orders. It was definitely a tedious process …

SARS-CoV-2 Transmission

Angie SzumlinskiStudies

There is still much to be understood about the factors influencing the ecology and epidemiology of COVID-19. In particular, whether environmental variation is likely to drive seasonal changes in SARS-CoV-2 transmission dynamics is largely unknown. In a study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS), the effects of the environment on …

Persistent COVID-19 Symptoms

Angie SzumlinskiStudies

We have read and written many articles and blogs regarding this topic but it continues to fascinate everyone including researchers. The frequency and variety of persistent symptoms after COVID-19 are definitely stumping the medical community! In a study published in JAMA Open, a systematic review of 45 studies including 9,751 participants with COVID-19, the median proportion of individuals who experienced …

Once a Faller Always a Faller

Angie SzumlinskiHealth

In a presentation at the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) 2021 Annual Meeting, researchers identified that people with a history of falls were more likely to experience another fall in a few months post-fall. The ACSM’s Guidelines of Exercise Testing and Prescription recommend that older adults perform aerobic exercise days a week and that they supplement this with 2 …

Natural Immunity

Angie SzumlinskiStudies

According to a study published in the Journal of Infectious Disease, naturally acquired SARS-CoV-2 immunity persists for up to 11 months following infection. The study was a prospective, longitudinal analysis of COVID-19 convalescent plasma (CCP) donors at multiple time points over an 11-month period in order to determine how circulating antibody levels change over time following natural infection. 228 donors …

Lack of Sleep

Angie SzumlinskiStudies

In a study published in Science Daily, having trouble falling asleep was associated with cognitive impairment. More frequent trouble falling asleep predicted poorer episodic memory, executive function, language, processing speed, and visuospatial performance. Insomnia involves difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep, or regularly waking up earlier than desired, despite allowing enough time in bed. This study analyzed data from the …

Elderly Patient in Hospital

Isolation and Mortality

Angie SzumlinskiStudies

Social isolation, generally defined as having few social network ties or infrequent social contact, is an important public health concern that affects many older adults. By age 85, 39% of older adults live alone, and socially isolated adults experience high rates of negative health outcomes, including premature mortality and a 5% increase in the risk of dementia. In the LTC …

Xray image of hip fracture

Fracture Hospitalization Trends

Angie SzumlinskiStudies

Fractures in late life are highly consequential for health, services use, and spending, however, little is known about trends in extremity fracture hospitalizations among older adults in the United States. Although trauma-related death and disability is most common among young and working-age Americans, older adults comprise approximately 30% of trauma hospitalizations. While both injurious falls and osteoporotic hip fractures have …

Older Happy Americans

The National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) – Provisional Life Expectancy Estimates for 2020

Angie SzumlinskiAnnouncements

NCHS publishes annual and decennial national life tables based on final vital statistics. To assess the effects on life expectancy of excess mortality observed during 2020, NCHS published provisional life expectancy estimates for the months January through June 2020, in February 2021. This report presents updated estimates of life expectancy based on provisional mortality data for the full year, January …

CDC COVID-19 Forecasts: New and Total Deaths

Angie SzumlinskiHealth

This week’s national ensemble predicts that the number of newly reported COVID-19 deaths will likely increase over the next 4 weeks, with 1,200 to 5,300 new deaths likely reported in the week ending August 14, 2021. The national ensemble predicts that a total of 615,000 to 625,000 COVID-19 deaths will be reported by this date.