Browsing by Author "Lee, Hui-Jie"
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Item Open Access Age-related effects on thymic output and homeostatic T cell expansion following depletional induction in renal transplant recipients.(American journal of transplantation : official journal of the American Society of Transplantation and the American Society of Transplant Surgeons, 2021-09) Xu, He; Lee, Hui-Jie; Schmitz, Robin; Shaw, Brian I; Li, Shu; Kirk, Allan DThymic output and homeostatic mature cell proliferation both influence T cell repopulation following depletional induction, though the relative contribution of each and their association with recipient age have not been well studied. We investigated the repopulating T cell kinetics in kidney transplant recipients who underwent alemtuzumab induction followed by belatacept/rapamycin-based immunosuppression over 36-month posttransplantation. We focused specifically on the correlation between repopulating T cell subsets and the age of patients. Substantial homeostatic Ki67-expressing T cell proliferation was seen posttransplantation. A repertoire enriched for naïve T (TNaïve ) cells emerged posttransplantation. Analysis by generalized estimating equation linear models revealed a strong negative linear association between reconstituting TNaïve cells and advancing age. A relationship between age and persistence of effector memory cells was shown. We assessed thymic output and found an increase in the frequency of recent thymic emigrants (RTEs, CD4+ CD31+ ) at 12-month posttransplantation. Patients under 30 years of age showed significantly higher levels of CD4+ CD31+ cells than patients over 55 years of age pre- and posttransplantation. IL-7 and autologous mature dendritic cells (mDCs) induced CD57- cell proliferation. In contrast, mDCs, but not IL-7, induced CD57+ cell proliferation. This study establishes the relationship between age and thymic output during T cell homeostatic repopulation after alemtuzumab induction. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov - NCT00565773.Item Open Access Association between Dysphagia and Surgical Outcomes across the Continuum of Frailty.(Journal of nutrition in gerontology and geriatrics, 2021-04) Cohen, Seth M; Porter Starr, Kathryn N; Risoli, Thomas; Lee, Hui-Jie; Misono, Stephanie; Jones, Harrison; Raman, SudhaThis study examined the relationship between dysphagia and adverse outcomes across frailty conditions among surgical patients ≥50 years of age. A retrospective cohort analysis of surgical hospitalizations in the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project's National Inpatient Sample among patients ≥50 years of age undergoing intermediate/high risk surgery not involving the larynx, pharynx, or esophagus. Of 3,298,835 weighted surgical hospitalizations, dysphagia occurred in 1.2% of all hospitalizations and was higher in frail patients ranging from 5.4% to 11.7%. Dysphagia was associated with greater length of stay, higher total costs, increased non-routine discharges, and increased medical/surgical complications among both frail and non-frail patients. Dysphagia may be an independent risk factor for poor postoperative outcomes among surgical patients ≥50 years of age across frailty conditions and is an important consideration for providers seeking to reduce risk in vulnerable surgical populations.Item Open Access Asthma medication usage is significantly reduced following bariatric surgery.(Surgical endoscopy, 2019-06) Guerron, Alfredo D; Ortega, Camila B; Lee, Hui-Jie; Davalos, Gerardo; Ingram, Jennifer; Portenier, DanaIntroduction
Asthma is an important healthcare problem affecting millions in the United States. Additionally, a large proportion of patients with asthma suffer from obesity. These patients exhibit poor asthma control and reduced therapy response, increasing utilization of healthcare resources. Pulmonary symptoms improve after bariatric surgery (BS), and we hypothesized that asthma medication usage would decrease following BS.Methods
A retrospective data analysis was performed in adult patients from a single institution's database. Patients with obesity using at least one asthma medication pre-operatively who underwent BS were studied for up to 3-years post-operation. Poisson generalized linear mixed models for repeated measures were used to evaluate the effects of time and procedure type on the number of asthma medication.Results
Bariatric patients with at least one prescribed asthma medication (mean 1.4 ± 0.6) were included (n = 751). The mean age at time of operation was 46.8 ± 11.6 years, mean weight was 295.9 ± 57 lbs, and mean body mass index (BMI) was 49 ± 8.2 kg/m2; 87.7% were female, 33.4% had diabetes, 44.2% used gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) medication, and 64.4% used hypertension medication. The most common procedure was Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (79%), followed by sleeve gastrectomy (10.7%), adjustable gastric banding (8.1%), and duodenal switch (2.3%). The mean number of prescribed asthma medications among all procedures decreased by 27% at 30 days post-operation (p < 0.0001), 37% at 6 months (p < 0.0001), 44% at 1 year (p < 0.0001), and 46% at 3 years (p < 0.0001) after adjusting for risk factors. No significant differences in medication use over time between procedure types were observed. In the adjusted analysis, the mean number of asthma medications was 12% higher in patients using at least one GERD medication (p = 0.015) and 8% higher with 10-unit increase in pre-operative BMI (p = 0.006).Conclusion
BS significantly decreases asthma medication use starting 30 days post-operation with a sustained reduction for up to 3 years.Item Open Access Creating a win-win for the health system and health Profession's education: a direct observation clinical experience with feedback iN real-time (DOCENT) for low acuity patients in the emergency department.(BMC medical education, 2022-01-27) Clay, Alison S; Leiman, Erin R; Theiling, Brent Jason; Song, Yao; Padilla, Blanca Blanca Iris; Hudak, Nicholas M; Hartman, Ann Michelle; Hoder, Jeffrey M; Waite, Kathleen A; Lee, Hui-Jie; Buckley, Edward GBackground
Clinical education across the professions is challenged by a lack of recognition for faculty and pressure for patient throughput and revenue generation. These pressures may reduce direct observation of patient care provided by students, a requirement for both billing student-involved services and assessing competence. These same pressures may also limit opportunities for interprofessional education and collaboration.Methods
An interprofessional group of faculty collaborated in a sequential quality improvement project to identify the best patients and physical location for a student teaching clinic. Patient chief complaint, use of resources, length of stay, estimated severity of illness and student participation and evaluation of the clinic was tracked.Results
Clinic Optimization and Patient Care: Five hundred and thirty-two emergency department (ED) patients were seen in the first 19 months of the clinic. A clinic located near the ED allowed for patients with higher emergency severity index and greater utilization of imaging. Patients had similar or lower lengths of stay and higher satisfaction than patients who remained in the ED (p < 0.0001). In the second clinic location, from October 2016-June 2019, 644 patients were seen with a total of 667 concerns; the most common concern was musculoskeletal (50.1%). Student Interprofessional Experience: A total of 991 students participated in the clinic: 68.3% (n = 677) medical students, 10.1% (n = 100) physician assistant students, 9.7% (n = 96) undergraduate nursing students, 9.1% (n = 90) physical therapy students, and 2.8% (n = 28) nurse practitioner students. The majority (74.5%, n = 738) of student participants worked with students from other professions. More than 90% of students reported that faculty set a positive learning environment respectful of students. However, 20% of students reported that faculty could improve provision of constructive feedback. Direct Observation: Direct observation of core entrustable professional activities for medical students was possible. Senior medical students were more likely to be observed generating a differential diagnosis or management plan than first year medical students.Conclusions
Creation of a DOCENT clinic in the emergency department provided opportunities for interprofessional education and observation of student clinical skills, enriching student experience without compromising patient care.Item Open Access Healthcare Resource Utilization for Chronic Rhinosinusitis in Older Adults.(Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland), 2021-06-25) Jang, David W; Lee, Hui-Jie; Huang, Ryan J; Cheng, Jeffrey; Abi Hachem, Ralph; Scales, Chuck DObjectives
Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) is a common and costly health problem in the United States. While often associated with younger adults, CRS can affect the elderly. As the aging population increases in the United States, the cost burden of CRS in older adults is important to assess. The objective of this study is to characterize healthcare resource utilization (HCRU) and healthcare expenditure (HCE) for CRS in this population.Methods
Patients meeting criteria for CRS with three years of continuous data were identified on IBM® Marketscan Research Databases over a five-year period (2013-2017). Medication utilization, outpatient visits, surgery, and expenditures related to CRS were assessed for older adults (>65) and compared with other age groups. As a secondary analysis, multivariable generalized linear models were utilized to compare HCE while adjusting for baseline medication utilization.Results
A total of 238,825 patients met the inclusion criteria, of which 20,927 were older adults. Older adults had the highest overall prevalence of nasal polyps (10%) and asthma (16%) among adult groups. Surgery rate was lower than other adult groups, but medication utilization was the highest. Mean overall HCE at two years was highest in older adults (USD 2545 vs. 2298 in young adults). However, HCE was highest for the young adult group after adjusting for baseline medication usage.Conclusion
Older adults had a higher rate of CRS-related co-morbidities as well as the highest CRS-related medication utilization and unadjusted two-year HCE. Although the reasons for this are unclear, possibilities include greater disease severity and preference for medical versus surgical management. HCE for CRS is expected to increase as the aging population grows.Item Open Access Impact of Spinal Cord Stimulation on Opioid Dose Reduction: A Nationwide Analysis.(Neurosurgery, 2020-12) Adil, Syed M; Charalambous, Lefko T; Spears, Charis A; Kiyani, Musa; Hodges, Sarah E; Yang, Zidanyue; Lee, Hui-Jie; Rahimpour, Shervin; Parente, Beth; Greene, Kathryn A; McClellan, Mark; Lad, Shivanand PBackground
Opioid misuse in the USA is an epidemic. Utilization of neuromodulation for refractory chronic pain may reduce opioid-related morbidity and mortality, and associated economic costs.Objective
To assess the impact of spinal cord stimulation (SCS) on opioid dose reduction.Methods
The IBM MarketScan® database was retrospectively queried for all US patients with a chronic pain diagnosis undergoing SCS between 2010 and 2015. Opioid usage before and after the procedure was quantified as morphine milligram equivalents (MME).Results
A total of 8497 adult patients undergoing SCS were included. Within 1 yr of the procedure, 60.4% had some reduction in their opioid use, 34.2% moved to a clinically important lower dosage group, and 17.0% weaned off opioids entirely. The proportion of patients who completely weaned off opioids increased with decreasing preprocedure dose, ranging from 5.1% in the >90 MME group to 34.2% in the ≤20 MME group. The following variables were associated with reduced odds of weaning off opioids post procedure: long-term opioid use (odds ratio [OR]: 0.26; 95% CI: 0.21-0.30; P < .001), use of other pain medications (OR: 0.75; 95% CI: 0.65-0.87; P < .001), and obesity (OR: 0.75; 95% CI: 0.60-0.94; P = .01).Conclusion
Patients undergoing SCS were able to reduce opioid usage. Given the potential to reduce the risks of long-term opioid therapy, this study lays the groundwork for efforts that may ultimately push stakeholders to reduce payment and policy barriers to SCS as part of an evidence-based, patient-centered approach to nonopioid solutions for chronic pain.Item Open Access Impact of US hospital center and interhospital transfer on spinal cord injury management: An analysis of the National Trauma Data Bank.(The journal of trauma and acute care surgery, 2021-06) Williamson, Theresa; Hodges, Sarah; Yang, Lexie Zidanyue; Lee, Hui-Jie; Gabr, Mostafa; Ugiliweneza, Beatrice; Boakye, Maxwell; Shaffrey, Christopher I; Goodwin, C Rory; Karikari, Isaac O; Lad, Shivanand; Abd-El-Barr, MuhammadBackground
Traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) is a serious public health problem. Outcomes are determined by severity of immediate injury, mitigation of secondary downstream effects, and rehabilitation. This study aimed to understand how the center type a patient presents to and whether they are transferred influence management and outcome.Methods
The National Trauma Data Bank was used to identify patients with SCI. The primary objective was to determine association between center type, transfer, and surgical intervention. A secondary objective was to determine association between center type, transfer, and surgical timing. Multivariable logistic regression models were fit on surgical intervention and timing of the surgery as binary variables, adjusting for relevant clinical and demographic variables.Results
There were 11,744 incidents of SCI identified. A total of 2,883 patients were transferred to a Level I center and 4,766 presented directly to a level I center. Level I center refers to level I trauma center. Those who were admitted directly to level I centers had a higher odd of receiving a surgery (odds ratio, 1.703; 95% confidence interval, 1.47-1.97; p < 0.001), but there was no significant difference in terms of timing of surgery. Patients transferred into a level I center were also more likely to undergo surgery than those at a level II/III/IV center, although this was not significant (odds ratio, 1.213; 95% confidence interval, 0.099-1.48; p = 0.059).Conclusion
Patients with traumatic SCI admitted to level I trauma centers were more likely to have surgery, particularly if they were directly admitted to a level I center. This study provides insights into a large US sample and sheds light on opportunities for improving pre hospital care pathways for patients with traumatic SCI, to provide the timely and appropriate care and achieve the best possible outcomes.Level of evidence
Care management, Level IV.Item Open Access Implementation of Changes to Medical Student Documentation at Duke University Health System: Balancing Education With Service.(Academic medicine : journal of the Association of American Medical Colleges, 2021-06) Gagliardi, Jane P; Bonanno, Brian; McPeek Hinz, Eugenia R; Musser, R Clayton; Knudsen, Nancy W; Palko, Michael; McNair, Felice; Lee, Hui-Jie; Clay, Alison SPurpose
When the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) changed policies about medical student documentation, students with proper supervision may now document their history, physical exam, and medical decision making in the electronic health record (EHR) for billable encounters. Since documentation is a core entrustable professional activity for medical students, the authors sought to evaluate student opportunities for documentation and feedback across and between clerkships.Method
In February 2018, a multidisciplinary workgroup was formed to implement student documentation at Duke University Health System, including educating trainees and supervisors, tracking EHR usage, and enforcing CMS compliance. From August 2018 to August 2019, locations and types of student-involved services (student-faculty or student-resident-faculty) were tracked using billing data from attestation statements. Student end-of-clerkship evaluations included opportunity for documentation and receipt of feedback. Since documentation was not allowed before August 2018, it was not possible to compare with prior student experiences.Results
In the first half of the academic year, 6,972 patient encounters were billed as student-involved services, 52% (n = 3,612) in the inpatient setting and 47% (n = 3,257) in the outpatient setting. Most (74%) of the inpatient encounters also involved residents, and most (92%) of outpatient encounters were student-teaching physician only.Approximately 90% of students indicated having had opportunity to document in the EHR across clerkships, except for procedure-based clerkships such as surgery and obstetrics. Receipt of feedback was present along with opportunity for documentation more than 85% of the time on services using evaluation and management coding. Most students (> 90%) viewed their documentation as having a moderate or high impact on patient care.Conclusions
Changes to student documentation were successfully implemented and adopted; changes met both compliance and education needs within the health system without resulting in potential abuses of student work for service.Item Open Access Initial Clinical Outcome With Bilateral, Dual-Target Deep Brain Stimulation Trial in Parkinson Disease Using Summit RC + S.(Neurosurgery, 2022-04-07) Mitchell, Kyle T; Schmidt, Stephen L; Cooney, Jeffrey W; Grill, Warren M; Peters, Jennifer; Rahimpour, Shervin; Lee, Hui-Jie; Jung, Sin-Ho; Mantri, Sneha; Scott, Burton; Lad, Shivanand P; Turner, Dennis ABackground
Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is an effective therapy in advanced Parkinson disease (PD). Although both subthalamic nucleus (STN) and globus pallidus (GP) DBS show equivalent efficacy in PD, combined stimulation may demonstrate synergism.Objective
To evaluate the clinical benefit of stimulating a combination of STN and GP DBS leads and to demonstrate biomarker discovery for adaptive DBS therapy in an observational study.Methods
We performed a pilot trial (n = 3) of implanting bilateral STN and GP DBS leads, connected to a bidirectional implantable pulse generator (Medtronic Summit RC + S; NCT03815656, IDE No. G180280). Initial 1-year outcome in 3 patients included Unified PD Rating Scale on and off medications, medication dosage, Hauser diary, and recorded beta frequency spectral power.Results
Combined DBS improved PD symptom control, allowing >80% levodopa medication reduction. There was a greater decrease in off-medication motor Unified PD Rating Scale with multiple electrodes activated (mean difference from off stimulation off medications -18.2, range -25.5 to -12.5) than either STN (-12.8, range -20.5 to 0) or GP alone (-9, range -11.5 to -4.5). Combined DBS resulted in a greater reduction of beta oscillations in STN in 5/6 hemispheres than either site alone. Adverse events occurred in 2 patients, including a small cortical hemorrhage and seizure at 24 hours postoperatively, which resolved spontaneously, and extension wire scarring requiring revision at 2 months postoperatively.Conclusion
Patients with PD preferred combined DBS stimulation in this preliminary cohort. Future studies will address efficacy of adaptive DBS as we further define biomarkers and control policy.Item Open Access Palliative Care Consultations in Patients with Severe Traumatic Brain Injury: Who Receives Palliative Care Consultations and What Does that Mean for Utilization?(Neurocritical care, 2022-06) Williamson, Theresa L; Adil, Syed M; Shalita, Chidyaonga; Charalambous, Lefko T; Mitchell, Taylor; Yang, Zidanyue; Parente, Beth A; Lee, Hui-Jie; Ubel, Peter A; Lemmon, Monica E; Galanos, Anthony N; Lad, Shivanand P; Komisarow, Jordan MBackground
Palliative care has the potential to improve goal-concordant care in severe traumatic brain injury (sTBI). Our primary objective was to illuminate the demographic profiles of patients with sTBI who receive palliative care encounters (PCEs), with an emphasis on the role of race. Secondary objectives were to analyze PCE usage over time and compare health care resource utilization between patients with or without PCEs.Methods
The National Inpatient Sample database was queried for patients age ≥ 18 who had a diagnosis of sTBI, defined by using International Classification of Diseases, 9th Revision codes. PCEs were defined by using International Classification of Diseases, 9th Revision code V66.7 and trended from 2001 to 2015. To assess factors associated with PCE in patients with sTBI, we performed unweighted generalized estimating equations regression. PCE association with decision making was modeled via its effect on rate of percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) tube placement. To quantify differences in PCE-related decisions by race, race was modeled as an effect modifier.Results
From 2001 to 2015, the proportion of palliative care usage in patients with sTBI increased from 1.5 to 36.3%, with 41.6% White, 22.3% Black, and 25% Hispanic patients with sTBI having a palliative care consultation in 2015, respectively. From 2008 to 2015, we identified 17,673 sTBI admissions. White and affluent patients were more likely to have a PCE than Black, Hispanic, and low socioeconomic status patients. Across all races, patients receiving a PCE resulted in a lower rate of PEG tube placement; however, White patients exhibited a larger reduction of PEG tube placement than Black patients. Patients using palliative care had lower total hospital costs (median $16,368 vs. $26,442, respectively).Conclusions
Palliative care usage for sTBI has increased dramatically this century and it reduces resource utilization. This is true across races, however, its usage rate and associated effect on decision making are race-dependent, with White patients receiving more PCE and being more likely to decline the use of a PEG tube if they have had a PCE.Item Open Access Prevalence and resource utilization for vocal fold paralysis/paresis after esophagectomy.(The Laryngoscope, 2018-12) Crowson, Matthew G; Tong, Betty C; Lee, Hui-Jie; Song, Yao; Harpole, David H; Jones, Harrison N; Cohen, SethObjectives/hypothesis
Vocal fold paralysis/paresis (VFP) is an uncommon but serious complication following esophagectomy. The objectives of this study were to: 1) identify the prevalence of VFP and associated complications after esophagectomy in the United States, and 2) determine the utilization and otolaryngology-head and neck surgery/speech-language pathology (OHNS/SLP) and predictors of such utilization in the management of these patients.Study design
Retrospective database analysis.Methods
The National Inpatient Sample (NIS) represents a 20% stratified sample of discharges from US hospitals. Using International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification codes, patients undergoing esophagectomy between 2008 and 2013 were identified in the NIS. Subcohorts of patients with VFP and OHNS/SLP utilization were also identified. Weighted logistic regression models were used to compare binary outcomes such as complications; generalized linear models were used to compare total hospital charges and length of stay (LOS).Results
We studied 10,896 discharges, representing a weighted estimate of 52,610 patients undergoing esophagectomy. The incidence of VFP after esophagectomy was 1.96%. Compared to those without VFP, patients with VFP had a higher incidence of postoperative pneumonia, more medical complications, and were more likely to undergo tracheostomy; hospital charges and LOS were also higher. Of the patients with VFP, 35.0% received OHNS/SLP intervention.Conclusions
VFP after esophagectomy is associated with postoperative complications, prolonged LOS, and higher hospital costs. OHNS/SLP intervention occurred in roughly one-third of postesophagectomy VFP patients, suggesting there may be opportunities for enhanced evaluation and management of these patients.Level of evidence
4 Laryngoscope, 128:2815-2822, 2018.Item Open Access Ratios of head circumference to ventricular size vary over time and predict eventual need for CSF diversion in intraventricular hemorrhage of prematurity.(Child's nervous system : ChNS : official journal of the International Society for Pediatric Neurosurgery, 2024-03) Venkatraman, Vishal; Harward, Stephen C; Bhasin, Srijan; Calderon, Kylie; Atkins, Sage L; Liu, Beiyu; Lee, Hui-Jie; Chow, Shein-Chung; Fuchs, Herbert E; Thompson, Eric MPurpose
Intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) of prematurity can lead to hydrocephalus, sometimes necessitating permanent cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) diversion. We sought to characterize the relationship between head circumference (HC) and ventricular size in IVH over time to evaluate the clinical utility of serial HC measurements as a metric in determining the need for CSF diversion.Methods
We included preterm infants with IVH born between January 2000 and May 2020. Three measures of ventricular size were obtained: ventricular index (VI), Evan's ratio (ER), and frontal occipital head ratio (FOHR). The Pearson correlations (r) between the initial (at birth) paired measurements of HC and ventricular size were reported. Multivariable longitudinal regression models were fit to examine the HC:ventricle size ratio, adjusting for the age of the infant, IVH grade (I/II vs. III/IV), need for CSF diversion, and sex.Results
A total of 639 patients with an average gestational age of 27.5 weeks were included. IVH grade I/II and grade III/IV patients had a positive correlation between initial HC and VI (r = 0.47, p < 0.001 and r = 0.48, p < 0.001, respectively). In our longitudinal models, patients with a low-grade IVH (I/II) had an HC:VI ratio 0.52 higher than those with a high-grade IVH (p-value < 0.001). Patients with low-grade IVH had an HC:ER ratio 12.94 higher than those with high-grade IVH (p-value < 0.001). Patients with low-grade IVH had a HC:FOHR ratio 12.91 higher than those with high-grade IVH (p-value < 0.001). Infants who did not require CSF diversion had an HC:VI ratio 0.47 higher than those who eventually did (p < 0.001). Infants without CSF diversion had an HC:ER ratio 16.53 higher than those who received CSF diversion (p < 0.001). Infants without CSF diversion had an HC:FOHR ratio 15.45 higher than those who received CSF diversion (95% CI (11.34, 19.56), p < 0.001).Conclusions
There is a significant difference in the ratio of HC:VI, HC:ER, and HC:FOHR size between patients with high-grade IVH and low-grade IVH. Likewise, there is a significant difference in HC:VI, HC:ER, and HC:FOHR between those who did and did not have CSF diversion. The routine assessments of both head circumference and ventricle size by ultrasound are important clinical tools in infants with IVH of prematurity.Item Open Access Vocal Fold Paralysis/Paresis as a Marker for Poor Swallowing Outcomes After Thoracic Surgery Procedures.(Dysphagia, 2019-12) Crowson, Matthew G; Tong, Betty C; Lee, Hui-Jie; Song, Yao; Misono, Stephanie; Jones, Harrison N; Cohen, Seth(1) To examine the association between vocal fold paresis/paralysis (VFP) and poor swallowing outcomes in a thoracic surgery cohort at the population level, and (2) to assess utilization of ENT/speech-language pathology intervention in these cases. The National Inpatient Sample (NIS) represents a 20% stratified sample of discharges from US hospitals. Using ICD-9 codes, discharges undergoing general thoracic surgical procedures between 2008 and 2013 were identified in the NIS. Sub-cohorts of discharges with VFP and those who utilized ENT/SLP services were also identified. Weighted logistic regression models were used to compare binary outcomes such as dysphagia, aspiration pneumonia, and other complications; generalized linear models with generalized estimating equations (GEE) were used to compare total hospital costs and length of stay (LOS). We identified a weighted estimate of 673,940 discharges following general thoracic surgery procedures. The weighted frequency of VFP was 3738 (0.55%). Compared to those without VFP, patients who discharged with VFP had increased odds of dysphagia (6.56, 95% CI 5.07-8.47), aspiration pneumonia (2.54, 95% CI 1.74-3.70), post-operative tracheotomy (3.10, 95% CI 2.16-4.45), and gastrostomy tube requirement (2.46, 95% CI 1.66-3.64). Discharges with VFP also had a longer length of stay and total hospital costs. Of the discharges with VFP, 15.7% received ENT/SLP intervention. VFP after general thoracic procedures is associated with negative swallowing-related health outcomes and higher costs. Despite these negative impacts, most patients with VFP do not receive ENT/SLP intervention, identifying a potential opportunity for improving adverse swallowing-related outcomes.