Pneumococcal disease, which includes pneumococcal pneumonia, meningitis, and bacteremia, is associated with substantial morbidity, mortality, and health care costs in adults. Advanced age, chronic lung or cardiovascular disease, immunosuppressive…
Background. Streptococcus pneumoniae causes a substantial proportion of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) and healthcare-associated pneumonia (HCAP) in the United States. Limited data are available regarding the pneumococcal serotypes causing CAP…
Background: Frailty (defined as weakness, slowness, weight loss, exhaustion, and physical inactivity) is characterized by increased vulnerability to stressors. Frail older patients are at increased risk of Emergency Department (ED) visits,…
Objective: According to the Transtheoretical Model (TM), tailoring interventions to patients' readiness to change can enhance patient progress and help patients use therapeutic resources more effectively. However, tailoring an intervention depends on…
Dually enrolled Medicare-Medicaid older adults are a vulnerable population. We tested House's Conceptual Framework for Understanding Social Inequalities in Health and Aging in Medicare-Medicaid enrollees by examining the extent to which disparities…
INTRODUCTION: Although the use of recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein-2 (rhBMP-2) for spinal fusion has been fairly studied in the general population, relatively little research has been conducted on its use in the elderly patient…
