Table 4.
Sample social media posts in the month prior to an inpatient or ED visit.
| Encounter diagnosis | #days prior to encounter | Example post (redacted) |
|---|---|---|
| Inpatient encounters | ||
| Delivery complicated by asthma with acute exacerbation | 1 | just…had a major asthma attack…been like this for 3 days n today was the worst |
| Heart failure exacerbation | 1 | …cant sleep:(…as soon as I get to lay on my stomach I gotta deal wit this |
| Angina in the setting of heart failure | 25 | At Wendy’s for dinner…to make it healthy, ordered water instead of coke to go with my cheeseburger and fries |
| Unipolar major depression with psychotic features | 1 | GOIN IN CIRCLES…ROUND AND ROUND…I FEEL SO STUPID FOOLISH LOVING U THIS WAY……the tears…the hurt…i wish that u would just appear |
| Hysterectomy | 1 | …I gotta go all day without food….So pissed off…I know I’m scheduled to have the surgery…tomorrow |
| Pelvic inflammatory disease | 1 | I’m so sick…I’m ready to go to the emergency room…it took me an hour to get up and pee… |
| ED encounters | ||
| Spider bite | 1 | I was bit by something…my [arm] is purple and sore…I think it was a [bug]… I feel weak…if I’m here tomorrow I’ll go to [the ED]. I pray I don’t have [Lyme disease]… |
| Urinary tract infection | 6 | Woke up in…my own blood…totally anemic…I write this for 3 reasons: 1. awake and drinking [cranberry juice]….2….the past [4] months taught me that problematic…bladder and GI tract are unbelievably annoying….3….I love [worrying], attention, and lists |
| Breast pain (etiology unclear) | 3 | My heart is so heavy right now….R.I.P grandpa… |
| Nausea with vomiting (etiology unclear) | 3 | …juice: please stay in my body…I don’t want to reexperience it |
| Nausea with vomiting (etiology unclear) | 2 | So sick ughh cant take this. Im so bored and not feeln good at all |
| Panic attack | 1 | I stick my hand out for you…but you don’t give me a hand back… |