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Approximately 10% of all patients with middle cerebral artery (MCA) territory cerebral infarction suffer progressive deterioration due to cerebral edema, increased intracranial pressure, and brain herniation. In these patients with malignant MCA territory infarction aggressive decompressive craniectomy has been reported to improve overall prognosis.
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How does one physiologically explain ulnar neuropathies at the elbow that clinically localize to the wrist? Why do proximal sciatic neuropathies sometimes masquerade clinically as peroneal neuropathies at the knee? In this lucid, well-articulated review, Stewart thoroughly and evenhandedly comments on the literature going back to 1913, convincingly arguing that nerve fibers do not randomly intertwine as they progress distally in nerve bundles.
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Making sure your patient satisfaction program is top-notch takes more than just sending out surveys, according to winners of a national patient satisfaction improvement award offered by Press Ganey Associates in South Bend, IN.
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Last year, quality managers who were expecting major changes from the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations 2004 National Patient Safety Goals got a bit of a surprise: The goals were largely the same as the previous years. This time, however, that wont be the case.
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Do you think that a kidnapper could walk undetected through the halls of your hospital by using a fake ID badge and get away with a baby? Thats exactly what happened at one Salt Lake City facility, when a woman wearing hospital scrubs and a makeshift badge managed to abduct a 3-day-old infant.
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Is your hospitals emergency department (ED) reporting record diversion hours, with patient volume and acuity higher than ever? Is the practice of holding admitted patients for long periods in the ED becoming the rule rather than the exception?
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Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is nosocomial pneumonia occurring in a mechanically ventilated patient > 48 hours after intubation. It is categorized as early-onset (defined by most experts as 48-96 hours after intubation) and late-onset (> 2-96 hours after intubation): these differ with respect to responsible bacterial agents as well as outcomes.
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The FDA has approved Telithromycin, the first Ketolide antibiotic. Ketolides are semisynthetic derivatives of the macrolide erythromycin that have activity against a wide spectrum of respiratory bacterial pathogens including multi-drug resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae. Telithromycin, which is a once-a-day oral tablet, is marketed by Aventis as Ketek.