All Publications


  • Visit and Between-Visit Interaction Frequency Before and After COVID-19 Telehealth Implementation JAMA NETWORK OPEN Nouri, S., Lyles, C. R., Sherwin, E. B., Kuznia, M., Rubinsky, A. D., Kemper, K. E., Nguyen, O. K., Sarkar, U., Schillinger, D., Khoong, E. C. 2023; 6 (9): e2333944

    Abstract

    Telehealth implementation associated with the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) affected patient-clinical team interactions in numerous ways. Yet, studies have narrowly examined billed patient-clinician visits rather than including visits with other team members (eg, pharmacists) or between-visit interactions.To evaluate rates of change over time in visits (in-person, telehealth) and between-visit interactions (telephone calls, patient portal messages) overall and by key patient characteristics.This retrospective cohort study included adults with diabetes receiving primary care at urban academic (University of California San Francisco [UCSF]) and safety-net (San Francisco Health Network [SFHN]) health care systems. Encounters from April 2019 to March 2021 were analyzed.Telehealth implementation over 3 periods: pre-PHE (April 2019 to March 2020), strict shelter-in-place (April to June 2020), and hybrid-PHE (July 2020 to March 2021).The main outcomes were rates of change in monthly mean number of total encounters, visits with any health care team member, visits with billing clinicians, and between-visit interactions. Key patient-level characteristics were age, race and ethnicity, language, and neighborhood socioeconomic status (nSES).Of 15 148 patients (4976 UCSF; 8975 SFHN) included, 2464 (16%) were 75 years or older, 7734 (51%) were female patients, 9823 (65%) self-identified as racially or ethnically minoritized, 6223 (41%) had a non-English language preference, and 4618 (31%) lived in the lowest nSES quintile. After accounting for changes to care delivery through an interrupted time-series analysis, total encounters increased in the hybrid-PHE period (UCSF: 2.3% per patient/mo; 95% CI, 1.6%-2.9% per patient/mo; SFHN: 1.8% per patient/mo, 95% CI, 1.3%-2.2% per patient/mo), associated primarily with growth in between-visit interactions (UCSF: 3.1% per patient/mo, 95% CI, 2.3%-3.8% per patient/mo; SFHN: 2.9% per patient/mo, 95% CI, 2.3%-3.4% per patient/mo). In contrast, rates of visits were stable during the hybrid-PHE period. Although there were fewer differences in visit use by key patient-level characteristics during the hybrid-PHE period, pre-PHE differences in between-visit interactions persisted during the hybrid-PHE period at SFHN. Asian and Chinese-speaking patients at SFHN had fewer monthly mean between-visit interactions compared with White patients (0.46 [95% CI, 0.42-0.50] vs 0.59 [95% CI, 0.53-0.66] between-visit interactions/patient/mo; P < .001) and English-speaking patients (0.52 [95% CI, 0.47-0.58] vs 0.61 [95% CI, 0.56-0.66] between-visit interactions/patient/mo; P = .03).In this study, pre-PHE growth in overall patient-clinician encounters persisted after PHE-related telehealth implementation, driven in both periods by between-visit interactions. Differential utilization based on patient characteristics was observed, which may indicate disparities. The implications for health care team workload and patient outcomes are unknown, particularly regarding between-visit interactions. Therefore, to comprehensively understand care utilization for patients with chronic diseases, research should expand beyond billed visits.

    View details for DOI 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.33944

    View details for Web of Science ID 001068514300006

    View details for PubMedID 37713198

    View details for PubMedCentralID PMC10504619

  • Impact of standardized, language-concordant hospital discharge instructions on postdischarge medication questions JOURNAL OF HOSPITAL MEDICINE Khoong, E. C., Sherwin, E. B., Harrison, J. D., Wheeler, M., Shah, S. J., Mourad, M., Khanna, R. 2023; 18 (9): 822-828

    Abstract

    Written instructions improve patient comprehension of discharge instructions but are often provided only in English even for patients with a non-English language preference (NELP). We implemented standardized written discharge instructions in English, Spanish, and Chinese for hospital medicine patients at an urban academic medical center. Using an interrupted time series analysis, we assessed the impact on medication-related postdischarge questions for patients with English, Spanish, or Chinese language preferences. Of 4013 patients, ∼15% had NELP. Preintervention, Chinese-preferring patients had a 5.6 percentage point higher probability of questions (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 1.55, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.08, 2.21) compared to English-preferring patients; Spanish-preferring and English-preferring patients had similar rates of questions. Postintervention, English-preferring and Spanish-preferring patients had no significant change; Chinese-preferring patients had a significant 10.9 percentage point decrease in the probability of questions (aOR = 0.38, 95% CI: 0.21, 0.69) thereby closing the disparity. Language-concordant written discharge instructions may reduce disparities in medication-related postdischarge questions for patients with NELP.

    View details for DOI 10.1002/jhm.13172

    View details for Web of Science ID 001035200200001

    View details for PubMedID 37490045

    View details for PubMedCentralID PMC10530543

  • Mixed methods evaluation of simulation-based training for postpartum hemorrhage management in Guatemala. BMC pregnancy and childbirth Parameshwar, P. S., Bianco, K., Sherwin, E. B., Meza, P. K., Tolani, A., Bates, P., Sie, L., Lopez Enriquez, A. S., Sanchez, D. E., Herrarte, E. R., Daniels, K. 2022; 22 (1): 513

    Abstract

    BACKGROUND: To assess if simulation-based training (SBT) of B-Lynch suture and uterine balloon tamponade (UBT) for the management of postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) impacted provider attitudes, practice patterns, and patient management in Guatemala, using a mixed-methods approach.METHODS: We conducted an in-country SBT course on the management of PPH in a governmental teaching hospital in Guatemala City, Guatemala. Participants were OB/GYN providers (n=39) who had or had not received SBT before. Surveys and qualitative interviews evaluated provider knowledge and experiences with B-Lynch and UBT to treat PPH.RESULTS: Multiple-choice surveys indicated that providers who received SBT were more comfortable performing and teaching B-Lynch compared to those who did not (p=0.003 and 0.005). Qualitative interviews revealed increased provider comfort with B-Lynch compared to UBT and identified multiple barriers to uterine balloon tamponade implementation.CONCLUSIONS: Simulation-based training had a stronger impact on provider comfort with B-Lynch compared to uterine balloon tamponade. Qualitative interviews provided insight into the challenges that hinder uptake of uterine balloon tamponade, namely resource limitations and decision-making hierarchies. Capturing data through a mixed-methods approach allowed for more comprehensive program evaluation.

    View details for DOI 10.1186/s12884-022-04845-2

    View details for PubMedID 35751071

  • Association of Neighborhood Income with Clinical Outcomes Among Pregnant Patients with Cardiac Disease Reproductive Sciences Carland, C., Panelli, D. M., Leonard, S. A., Bryant, E., Sherwin , E. B., Lee, C. J., Levin, E., Jimenez , S., Tremmel, J. A., Tsai , S., Heidenreich , P. A., Bianco , K., Khandelwal , A. 2022
  • Clinical factors associated with a positive postpartum depression screen in people with cardiac disease during pregnancy. Current research in psychiatry Panelli, D. M., Sherwin, E. B., Lee, C. J., Leonard, S. A., Miller, S. E., Miller, H. E., Tolani, A. T., Hoover, V., Ansari, J. R., Khandelwal, A., Bianco, K. 2022; 2 (2): 25-29

    Abstract

    Background: While people with cardiac disease are known to be at increased lifetime risk of depression, little is known about postpartum depression rates in this population. Describing rates of positive postpartum depression screens and identifying risk factors that are unique to cardiac patients may help inform risk reduction strategies.Methods: This retrospective cohort study included pregnant patients with congenital and/or acquired cardiac disease who delivered at a single institution between 2014 and 2020. The primary outcome was a positive postpartum depression screen, defined as Edinburgh Postpartum Depression Score (EPDS) ≥10. Potential exposures were selected a priori and compared between patients with and without a positive postpartum depression screen using Wilcoxon rank-sum and Fisher's exact tests. Secondary outcomes were responses to a longitudinal follow-up survey sent to English-speaking patients evaluating cardiac status, mental health, and infant development.Results: Of 126 eligible cardiac patients, 23 (18.3%) had a positive postpartum depression screen. Patients with a positive postpartum depression screen were more likely to have had antepartum anticoagulation with heparin or enoxaparin (56.5% versus 26.2%, p=0.007), blood transfusion during delivery (8.7% versus 0%, p=0.032), and maternal-infant separation postpartum (52.2% versus 28.2%, p=0.047) compared to patients with a negative screen. Among 29 patients with a positive screen who responded to the follow up survey, 50% reported being formally diagnosed with anxiety or depression and 33.3% reported child development problems.Conclusions: Our results highlight the importance of screening for postpartum depression in patients with cardiac disease, especially those requiring antepartum anticoagulation or maternal-infant separation postpartum.

    View details for DOI 10.46439/Psychiatry.2.027

    View details for PubMedID 36570491

  • Long Term Patient Follow-Up of Cardiac Disease in Pregnancy: Multidisciplinary Teams Tether At-Risk Patients to the System. Miller, S. E., Panelli, D., Sherwin, E., Lee, C., Miller, H., Tolani, A., O'Mara, A., Khandelwal, A., Bianco, Y. SPRINGER HEIDELBERG. 2021: 268A-269A
  • Novel Approaches to Develop Critical Reference Materials for Noninvasive Prenatal Testing: A Pilot Study. The journal of applied laboratory medicine Bianco, K., Sherwin, E. B., Konigshofer, Y., Girsen, A. I., Sylvester, K. G., Garlick, R. K. 2021

    Abstract

    BACKGROUND: Highly characterized reference materials are required to expand noninvasive prenatal testing (NIPT) for low incidence aneuploidies and microdeletions. The goal of this study was to develop reference materials for the development of next generation circulating cell-free DNA (ccfDNA) assays.METHODS: This was a prospective study of pregnancies complicated by positive prenatal genetic screening. ccfDNA was isolated from maternal plasma and amplified. Lymphoblastoid cell lines were prepared from maternal peripheral blood mononuclear cells and fetal cord blood cells. Cells were Epstein-Barr virus immortalized and expanded. Amplified DNA and to a limited extent formulated lymphoblastoid-derived ccfDNA was tested in SNP-based and chromosome counting (CC) based massively parallel sequencing assays.RESULTS: Enrolled cases included fetuses with: T21 (2), T18 (1), T18-XXX (1), XYY (1), microdeletions (1), and euploid (2). Three lymphoblastoid cells lines were prepared. Genomic DNA was extracted from cell lines and fragmented to simulate ccfDNA. ccfDNA isolation yielded about 2000 usable genome equivalents of DNA for each case for amplification. Although the sonicated genomic DNA derived from lymphoblastoid cell lines did not yield results compatible with NIPT assays, when blinded, NIPT platforms correctly identified the amplified ccfDNA isolated from blood in the majority of cases.CONCLUSIONS: This study showed that maternal blood samples from pregnancies complicated by common chromosomal abnormalities can be used to generate materials for the development and evaluation of NIPT assays.

    View details for DOI 10.1093/jalm/jfab037

    View details for PubMedID 34080621

  • Postpartum depression in mothers with pregnancies complicated by fetal cardiac anomaly. Journal of perinatology : official journal of the California Perinatal Association Waldrop, A. R., Sherwin, E. B., Anderson, J. N., Boissiere, J. C., Hintz, S. R., Maskatia, S. A., Girsen, A. I., Blumenfeld, Y. J. 2021

    Abstract

    OBJECTIVE: To investigate factors associated with positive postpartum depression (PPD) screen in pregnancies complicated by fetal congenital cardiac anomaly.STUDY DESIGN: We reviewed all records of pregnancies complicated by fetal congenital cardiac anomaly receiving prenatal, intrapartum and postpartum care at our single center, October 2016-October 2019. Maternal, obstetric, and neonatal data were compared between women with and without a positive PPD screen at the 6-week postpartum visit.RESULTS: Out of 415 women referred for fetal congenital cardiac anomaly, 86 women had complete inclusion criteria. Twenty-four women (28%) had a positive PPD screen. The frequencies of planned future infant surgery (73.9 vs. 26.2%, p=0.01) and neonatal death prior to postpartum visit (12.5 vs. 0%, p=0.02) were significantly higher among women with a positive PPD screen.CONCLUSION: In pregnancies complicated by fetal congenital cardiac anomaly, mothers of infants with planned future surgery or neonatal death are at significant risk for postpartum depression.

    View details for DOI 10.1038/s41372-021-01017-6

    View details for PubMedID 33712713

  • Individualized growth assessment in pregnancies complicated by fetal gastroschisis. The journal of maternal-fetal & neonatal medicine : the official journal of the European Association of Perinatal Medicine, the Federation of Asia and Oceania Perinatal Societies, the International Society of Perinatal Obstetricians Sherwin, E., Deter, R., Joudi, N., Trepman, P., Lee, W., El-Sayed, Y. Y., Girsen, A. I., Datoc, I., Hintz, S. R., Blumenfeld, Y. J. 2021: 1-11

    Abstract

    Prenatal ultrasound (US) has been shown to overestimate the incidence of suspected fetal growth restriction (FGR) in gastroschisis cases. This is largely because of altered sonographic abdominal circumference (AC) measurements when comparing gastroschisis cases with population nomograms. Individualized Growth Assessment (IGA) evaluates fetal growth using serial US measurements that allow consideration of the growth potential for a given case. Our goal was to assess the utility of IGA for distinguishing normal and pathological fetal growth in gastroschisis cases.Pregnancies with prenatally diagnosed fetal gastroschisis were managed and delivered at a single academic medical center. US fetal biometry including head circumference (HC), abdominal circumference (AC), and femur diaphysis length (FDL), and neonatal measurements including birthweight and HC were collected and analyzed for 32 consecutive fetal gastroschisis cases with at least two 2nd and two 3rd trimester measurements. Second trimester growth velocities were compared to a group of 118 non-anomalous fetuses with normal neonatal growth outcomes. Gastroschisis cases were classified into groups based on fetal growth pathology score (FGPS9) patterns. Agreement between IGA (FGPS9) and serial conventional estimated fetal weight (EFW) measurements for determining growth pathology was evaluated. Neonatal size outcomes were compared between conventional birthweight classifications for determining small for gestational age (SGA) and IGA Growth Potential Realization Index (GPRI) for weight and head circumference measurements.Fetal growth pathology score (FGPS9) measurements identified three in-utero growth patterns: no growth pathology, growth restriction and recovery, and progressive growth restriction. In the no growth pathology group (n = 19), there was 84% agreement between IGA and conventional methods in determining pathological growth in both the 3rd trimester and at birth. In the growth restriction and recovery group (n = 7), there was 71% agreement both in the 3rd trimester and at birth between IGA and conventional methods. In the progressive growth restriction group (n = 5), there was 100% agreement in the 3rd trimester and 60% agreement at birth between IGA and conventional methods.We present the first study using IGA to evaluate normal and pathological fetal growth in prenatally diagnosed gastroschisis cases. IGA was able to delineate two 3rd trimester growth pathology patterns - one with persistent growth restriction and another with in-utero growth recovery. Further validation of these initial findings with larger cohorts is warranted.

    View details for DOI 10.1080/14767058.2021.1926976

    View details for PubMedID 34098833

  • Perinatal Outcomes in Women With Cardiac Arrhythmia. Lee, J., Sie, L., Sherwin, E. B., Girsen, A. I., Tolani, A. T., Miller, H. E., Panelli, D. M., Do, S. C., Khandelwal, A., Bianco, K. SPRINGER HEIDELBERG. 2020: 161A
  • Postpartum Depression Among Women with Cardiac Disease: Considerations During the Delivery Admission Panelli, D., Sherwin, E. B., Lee, C. J., Suharwardy, S., Miller, H. E., Tolani, A. T., Girsen, A. I., Leonard, S. A., Warshawsky, S., Judy, A., Khandel-Wal, A., Bianco, Y. K. SPRINGER HEIDELBERG. 2020: 246A
  • Comparing insulin, metformin, and glyburide in treating diabetes in pregnancy and analyzing obstetric outcomes Sperling, M., Bentley, J., Girsen, A., Leonard, S. A., Sherwin, E. B., Panelli, D. M., Suharwardy, S., El Sayed, Y., Herrero, T. MOSBY-ELSEVIER. 2020: S481
  • Contraception uptake among women with cardiovascular disease: The impact of a multidisciplinary team care approach Miller, H. E., Sie, L., Lee, C. J., Panelli, D. M., Sherwin, E. B., Noon, B., Girsen, A., Bianco, K. MOSBY-ELSEVIER. 2020: S707–S708
  • Postpartum depression in women with pregnancies complicated by a fetal congenital cardiac anomaly Waldrop, A. R., Sherwin, E. B., Anderson, J. N., Boissiere, J. C., Girsen, A., Blumenfeld, Y. J. MOSBY-ELSEVIER. 2020: S348
  • Maternal Outcomes in Planned and Unplanned Pregnancies in Women with Cardiac Disease. Do, S. C., Tolani, A. T., Sie, L., Girsen, A. I., Lee, C. J., Sherwin, E., Panelli, D. M., El-Sayed, Y. Y., Khandelwal, A., Blumenfeld, Y. J., Bianco, K. SAGE PUBLICATIONS INC. 2019: 323A
  • A Multidisciplinary Approach to Care of Pregnant Patients with History of Open Heart Surgery. Do, S. C., Lee, C. J., Sie, L., Tolani, A. T., Sherwin, E., Girsen, A. I., El-Sayed, Y. Y., Khandelwal, A., Bianco, K., Blumenfeld, Y. J. SAGE PUBLICATIONS INC. 2019: 323A–324A
  • Care of the pregnant cardiac patient e the importance of a multidisciplinary approach Tolani, A. T., Do, S. C., Blumenfeld, Y. J., Sie, L., Girsen, A. I., Lee, C. J., Sherwin, E. B., Tsur, A., El-Sayed, Y. Y., Khandelwal, A., Bianco, K. MOSBY-ELSEVIER. 2019: S536
  • Individualized Growth Assessment in pregnancies complicated by fetal gastroschisis Sherwin, E. B., Deter, R. L., Lee, W., El-Sayed, Y. Y., Girsen, A. I., Datoc, I. A., Hintz, S. R., Blumenfeld, Y. J. MOSBY-ELSEVIER. 2019: S140–S141