Studies Find Link Between Housing Instability and COVID-19

AHRQ Stats

Access more data on this topic in the associated statistical brief, plus additional AHRQ data infographics.

Today's Headlines:

• Studies Find Link Between Housing Instability and COVID-19.
• Risk Assessment Model Effective at Categorizing Risk of Venous Thromboembolism in COVID-19 Patients.
• Patient Safety Network Cases Offer Commentaries on Avoiding Severe Medical Errors.
• New Data Available in Interactive Tool on Hospital Trends for COVID-19 and Other Conditions.
• New Research and Evidence From AHRQ.
• AHRQ in the Professional Literature.

Studies Find Link Between Housing Instability and COVID-19

Expired eviction moratoriums and homelessness were associated with increased COVID-19 infections, according to research partially funded by AHRQ. In one study, published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, researchers found that expired eviction moratoriums were associated with doubling of COVID-19 incidence and a fivefold increase in COVID-19 mortality 16 weeks after moratoriums lapsed. Another study published in Open Forum Infectious Diseases concluded that people experiencing homelessness with COVID-19 had a 30 percent higher risk of death than the general population. In a third study, published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, researchers found that most U.S. adults supported policies aimed at increasing housing stability during the COVID-19 pandemic, including extending moratoriums on evictions and foreclosures. 

Risk Assessment Model Effective at Categorizing Risk of Venous Thromboembolism in COVID-19 Patients

The IMPROVE-DD risk assessment model, used to detect venous thromboembolism (VTE), also appears effective at identifying VTE risk in hospitalized COVID-19 patients, according to an AHRQ-funded study in the Journal of Thrombosis and Thrombolysis. The model was tested on 1,975 patients hospitalized with COVID-19, who commonly experience VTE as a side effect of their infection. A review of the model’s reliability suggests there is a 70 percent chance that a randomly selected individual classified as high risk would present greater risk factors than a randomly selected individual classified as low risk, indicating similar accuracy when used on patients with or without COVID-19. Access the abstract.

Patient Safety Network Cases Offer Commentaries on Avoiding Severe Medical Errors

Two new Web M&M (Morbidity & Mortality Rounds on the Web) case studies from AHRQ’s Patient Safety Network (PSNet) include expert analyses of medical errors submitted by PSNet users. In one case, a 7-year-old girl with esophageal stenosis died after developing cardiac arrest while undergoing upper endoscopy with esophageal dilation. The case underscores the importance of communicating between providers and following the necessary technical steps to mitigate the risks of upper endoscopy in children. In another case, a 31-year-old woman was found to have a rare cystic lung disease more than two weeks after her condition was initially misdiagnosed in an emergency department. This case highlights the importance of performing computerized tomography scans for evaluating spontaneous pneumothorax and educating providers to increase awareness of rare cystic lung diseases. In addition to the most recent Web M&M, PSNet regularly highlights journal articles, books and tools related to patient safety. Articles featured this week include:

• Dimensions of safety culture: a systematic review of quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods for assessing safety culture in hospitals.
• Improving diagnostic performance through feedback: the Diagnosis LearningCycle.
• CancelRx: a health IT tool to reduce medication discrepancies in the outpatient setting.

Review additional new publications in PSNet’s current issue.

New Data Available in Interactive Tool on Hospital Trends for COVID-19 and Other Conditions

AHRQ’s interactive data visualization tool from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) now includes additional states with 2020 and 2021 quarterly data. The HCUP Visualization of Inpatient Trends in COVID-19 and Other Conditions allows users to explore state-specific monthly trends in inpatient stays from 2018 to 2021 related to COVID-19 and other conditions. Data drawn from the agency’s HCUP Summary Trend Tables are depicted in graphs that incorporate information from 46 states and the District of Columbia. The visualization allows users to compare the number of hospital discharges, average length of stay and in-hospital mortality rate across medical conditions including COVID-19, influenza, maternal and neonatal conditions, and mental health and substance use disorders.

New Research and Evidence From AHRQ

• Systematic Review: Interventional Treatments for Acute and Chronic Pain: Systematic Review.

AHRQ in the Professional Literature

Measurement of sepsis in a national cohort using three different methods to define baseline organ function. Wayne MT, Molling D, Wang XQ, et al. Ann Am Thorac Soc 2021 Apr;18(4):648-55. Access the abstract on PubMed®.

Designing a liver transplant patient and family decision support tool for organ offer decisions. Schaffhausen CR, Bruin MJ, Chu S, et al. Transplant Direct 2021 May;7(5):e695. Epub 2021 Apr 27. Access the abstract on PubMed®.

Applying human factors engineering to address the telemetry alarm problem in a large medical center. Patterson ES, Rayo MF, Edworthy JR, et al. Hum Factors 2021 May 19. [Epub ahead of print.] Access the abstract on PubMed®.

Provider and coach perspectives on implementing shadow coaching to improve provider-patient interactions. Quigley DD, Qureshi N, Slaughter ME, et al. J Eval Clin Pract 2021 May 20. [Epub ahead of print.] Access the abstract on PubMed®.

Racial disparities in utilization of palliative care among patients admitted with advanced solid organ malignancies. Lee K, Gani F, Canner JK, et al. Am J Hosp Palliat Care 2021 Jun;38(6):539-46. Epub 2020 May 6. Access the abstract on PubMed®.

Coronary revascularization outcomes in relation to skilled nursing facility use following hospital discharge. Savitz ST, Falk K, Stearns SC, et al. Clin Cardiol 2021 May;44(5):627-35. Epub 2021 Mar 23. Access the abstract on PubMed®.

Testing re-engineered discharge program implementation strategies in SNFs. Popejoy LL, Vogelsmeier AA, Wang Y, et al. Clin Nurs Res 2021 Jun;30(5):644-53. Epub 2020 Dec 22. Access the abstract on PubMed®.

Intracranial hypertension in multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children. Becker AE, Chiotos K, McGuire JL, et al. J Pediatr 2021 Jun;233:263-7. Epub 2021 Feb 26. Access the abstract on PubMed®.