Long-term mechanical ventilation (LTMV) is often needed to treat lung failure in children with serious conditions such as muscular dystrophy and preemies with underdeveloped lungs.?These ventilation systems can be administered at home.
A new study shows the hospital visits stemming from home care is very costly.?Children on LTMV require more emergency room visits and increased hospitalization.
Ask your doctor about ways to reduce health care costs.
Brian D. Benneyworth, M.D., M.S., Pediatric Critical Care and Health Service Research Fellow with the Child Health Evaluation and Research (CHEAR) unit at the University of Michigan Medical School reports that infants less than one year old made up 25% of the patient population, but used around 50% of the healthcare resources for all the children requiring LTMV.ventilation.
Benneyworth observed that this means that there may be ways to improve the care that these young children receive.?Programs in various hospitals have been working to improve the hospital discharge process as well as the home care resources available to them these patients.
This study analyzed all hospitalizations for children requiring long-term mechanical ventilation who were 0-20 years of age. It found that infants and very young children use the highest proportion of health care resources for these young LTMV patients.
Hospitalization time remained the same over the six year period examined, but admissions went up over 55 percent during the same time period.
Cystic Fibrosis
Cystic Fibrosis (CF) is a relatively rare disease affecting about 30,000 people in the United States, but it is one of the most common chronic pulmonary diseases in children and young adults, and causes significant disability and early death. About 1 in 29 Caucasians in the United States are carriers for the condition, and if two carriers have a child, that child has a one in four chance of being affected with CF.
It is a genetic disease that causes thick mucus to deposit in the lungs and pancreas, causing serious and potentially life-threatening lung infections and digestive problems severe enough to cause growth problems. Male patients may also have infertility problems.
?
The symptoms are numerous and can differ in severity among patients, but early signs appear in infancy with salty tasting skin, poor weight gain, frequent respiratory infections, and early bowel obstructions. As patients age, the primary concern is with the lungs, as the mucus build-up must be regularly cleared or they risk pneumonia and bacterial infections. The chronic lung irritation can end up causing high blood pressure in the lungs and problems getting oxygen to the rest of the body. In addition, the pancreas is affected in a similar way as the lungs, mucus plugs up the ducts that allow digestive juices to be released into the intestines. This can cause pancreatitis as well as malnutrition, as nutrients are excreted rather than absorbed. In addition, these patients may experience a type of diabetes unique to CF.
Diagnosis is made by testing the composition of a baby's sweat, either as part of a newborn screening program or from symptoms that appear shortly after birth. Specific genetic testing can be done as well. Monitoring and treatment of CF is a lifelong process. Vigilance in monitoring and treating symptoms is directly correlated to a longer life and better quality of life as well. Lung treatments often involve antibiotics for prevention and treatment of infections, breathing treatments to open up the airways, and medications that allow the mucus to be broken down and coughed up easier. Some patients may eventually need a lung transplant.
Digestive health is maintained by taking medications that replace the digestive enzymes from the pancreas as well as vitamin supplementation and adherence to a healthy diet. Exercise and hydration are extremely important, as is a type of therapy where patients clear mucus from the lungs by 'percussion therapy' and postural drainage. Cystic Fibrosis used to claim the lives of patients in childhood, but advances in therapy and medication not have the average CF patient living to age 35, and in many cases, many years longer.
?
fedora kid cudi famous quotes sherwin williams foobar iaa christina hendricks
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.