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OBJECTIVE: The Institute of Medicine identified emergency department (ED) crowding as a critical threat to patient safety. We assess the association between changes in publicly reported ED length of stay (LOS) and changes in quality-of-care measures in a national cohort of hospitals. METHODS: Longitudinal analysis of 2012 and 2013 data from the American Hospital Association (AHA) Survey, Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Cost Reports, and CMS Hospital Compare. We included hospitals reporting Hospital Compare timeliness measure of LOS for admitted patients. We used AHA and CMS data to incorporate hospital predictors of interest. We used the method of first differences to test for relationships in the change over time between timeliness measures and six hospital-level measures. RESULTS: The cohort consisted of 2,619 hospitals. Each additional hour of ED LOS was associated with a 0.7% decrease in proportion of patients giving a top satisfaction rating, a 0.7% decrease in proportion of patients who would "definitely recommend" the hospital, and a 6-minute increase in time to pain management for long bone fracture (p < 0.01 for all). A 1-hour increase in ED LOS is associated with a 44% increase in the odds of having an increase in left without being seen (95% confidence interval = 25% to 68%). ED LOS was not associated with hospital readmissions (p = 0.14) or time to percutaneous coronary intervention (p = 0.14). CONCLUSION: In this longitudinal study of hospitals across the United States, improvements in ED timeliness measures are associated with improvements in the patient experience.

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OBJECTIVE: In the past 20 years, the emphasis for avoiding dengue epidemics has focused on larval control of Aedes aegypti, the principal mosquito vector of dengue viruses. A general consensus is that mosquito larval control holds the best promise for reducing dengue epidemics, although its actual effectiveness is still unknown and subject to a great deal of uncertainty. The objective of this research was to assess the cost-effectiveness of emergency larval control programs for reducing dengue transmission in the Caribbean island of Puerto Rico and to develop guidelines to help choose between carrying out a rapid-response, emergency larval control intervention and not conducting such an intervention. DESIGN AND METHODS: Data on dengue transmission and its likely impacts in Puerto Rico were used as a case study to develop intervention guidelines. A distribution of economic impacts was simulated using available data on disease rates and economic variables, including the costs of treating patients and the opportunity costs represented by lost wages. Successful larval control interventions were assessed by determining two parameters: (1) the costs of an intervention and (2) the expected reduction in the reported case rate of dengue. In addition, we examined how these guidelines would change with an early warning system that provides information on a possible outbreak of dengue. RESULTS: In Puerto Rico, larval control programs that are expected to reduce dengue transmission by 50% and cost less than US$ 2.50 per person will be cost-effective. Programs that cost more per person but that further reduce transmission are still likely to be cost-effective. Having an early warning system, even one that provides a low level of accuracy, can extend the range of larval control programs that are cost-effective. For example, with an early warning system, a larval control program that reduces dengue transmission by 50% and that costs less than US$ 4.50 per person would be expected to be cost-effective. CONCLUSIONS: Guidelines such as the ones that we developed for Puerto Rico can be useful to public health authorities in helping to decide whether or not to spend resources for a larval control program to reduce dengue transmission. The range of larval control interventions that are cost-effective can be increased by having an early warning system that provides even a small amount of information regarding possible outbreaks.

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OBJECTIVE: In the past 20 years, the emphasis for avoiding dengue epidemics has focused on larval control of Aedes aegypti, the principal mosquito vector of dengue viruses. A general consensus is that mosquito larval control holds the best promise for reducing dengue epidemics, although its actual effectiveness is still unknown and subject to a great deal of uncertainty. The objective of this research was to assess the cost-effectiveness of emergency larval control programs for reducing dengue transmission in the Caribbean island of Puerto Rico and to develop guidelines to help choose between carrying out a rapid-response, emergency larval control intervention and not conducting such an intervention. DESIGN AND METHODS: Data on dengue transmission and its likely impacts in Puerto Rico were used as a case study to develop intervention guidelines. A distribution of economic impacts was simulated using available data on disease rates and economic variables, including the costs of treating patients and the opportunity costs represented by lost wages. Successful larval control interventions were assessed by determining two parameters: (1) the costs of an intervention and (2) the expected reduction in the reported case rate of dengue. In addition, we examined how these guidelines would change with an early warning system that provides information on a possible outbreak of dengue. RESULTS: In Puerto Rico, larval control programs that are expected to reduce dengue transmission by 50 percent and cost less than US$ 2.50 per person will be cost-effective. Programs that cost more per person but that further reduce transmission are still likely to be cost-effective. Having an early warning system, even one that provides a low level of accuracy, can extend the range of larval control programs that are cost-effective. For example, with an early warning system, a larval control program that reduces dengue transmission by 50 percent and that costs less than US$ 4.50 per person would be expected to be cost-effective. CONCLUSIONS: Guidelines such as the ones that we developed for Puerto Rico can be useful to public health authorities in helping to decide whether or not to spend resources for a larval control program to reduce dengue transmission. The range of larval control interventions that are cost-effective can be increased by having an early warning system that provides even a small amount of information regarding possible outbreaks

Objetivos. En los últimos 20 años, las medidas para evitar las epidemias de dengue se han centrado en el control de las larvas del mosquito Aedes aegypti, el principal vector de los virus del dengue. Existe consenso acerca de que el control de las larvas de mosquito es el método más prometedor para reducir las epidemias de dengue, a pesar de que su eficacia real aún se desconoce y constituye un elemento de gran incertidumbre. El objetivo de la presente investigación fue evaluar la rentabilidad de los programas de emergencia para el control de larvas, dirigidos a reducir la transmisión del dengue en la isla caribeña de Puerto Rico, y desarrollar una guía que permita decidir si se deben realizar o no intervenciones de emergencia para el control de larvas como respuesta rápida. Diseño y métodos. Los datos sobre la transmisión del dengue y su probable impacto en Puerto Rico fueron utilizados a manera de estudio de caso para desarrollar una guía de intervención. Se simuló una distribución de los valores de impacto económico utilizando para ello los datos disponibles de morbilidad y variables económicas, entre ellas el costo del tratamiento de los pacientes y los costos de oportunidad que representan los salarios perdidos. El éxito de las intervenciones de control de larvas fue evaluado mediante dos parámetros: (1) el costo de una intervención y (2) la reducción esperada de casos reportados de dengue. Adicionalmente, se examinó cómo esta guía podría variar con un sistema de alerta rápida que avise de posibles brotes de dengue. Resultados. En Puerto Rico, los programas de control de larvas que prevean reducir la transmisión en 50% y que cuesten menos de US$ 2,50 por persona serán rentables. Los programas que cuesten más por persona pero que logren mayores reducciones de la transmisión de la enfermedad pueden aun ser rentables. Los sistemas de alerta rápida, incluso si su nivel de exactitud es bajo, pueden hacer que más programas para el control de larvas sean rentables. Por ejemplo, podría esperarse que con un sistema de alerta rápida, un programa que reduzca la transmisión del dengue en menos de 50% y cuyo costo sea menor de US$ 4,50 por persona, sea rentable. Conclusiones. Guías como esta, desarrollada para Puerto Rico, pueden ayudar a las autoridades sanitarias a decidir si deben dedicar o no recursos a un programa de control de larvas para reducir la transmisión del dengue. El número de intervenciones rentables para el control de larvas puede aumentar mediante la implementación de un sistema de alerta rápida que facilite información acerca de posibles brotes, aun cuando esta sea escasa

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Whether recurrent otitis media in infants and young children is followed by delayed language development was addressed by following 210 normal subjects longitudinally through the first 2 years of life with pneumatic otoscopy and tympanometry performed at every physician encounter. Otitis accounted for 26% of the medical visits. One hundred fifty-six of these children had speech and hearing evaluation at 2 years of age. Thirty percent of the children with recurrent otitis media had a mild or moderate hearing loss. However, after multiple speech and language tests, we could not identify a delay in language acquisition in the otitis-prone children. At 3 to 4 years old, 36 children, including nine with a hearing loss at 2 years of age, were retested; all nine had normal hearing. Recurrent otitis media induced a temporary decrease in hearing sensitivity demonstrable at 2 years of age, which appeared to resolve as the children matured and which was not associated with delay in language acquisition.

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