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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.
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A patient with a disease resembling anthrax led to the identification of anthrax-like virulence factors in an isolate of Bacillus cereus.
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Musher and colleagues in Houston examined the usefulness of examination of Gram-stained sputum specimens and of sputum culture for the diagnosis of pneumococcal pneumonia. They included all 105 patients with bacteremic pneumococcal pneumonia seen over 6 years at their VA hospital, and examined the results of the first sputum specimen submitted to the laboratory.
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Public awareness of the symptoms of stroke has increased the frequency of emergency department visits by patients with this complex chief complaint. Often, subtle symptoms may or may not represent a cerebral infarct. This issue of ED Legal Letter will review the diagnosis, management, and follow-up of patients with both transient ischemic attack and cerebral vascular accidents. Appropriate diagnosis and treatment will prevent subsequent permanent disability and potential litigation.
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After well-child visits, three of the top five reasons parents take their children to pediatricians are for ear, nose, and throat problems such as ear infections, sinusitis, and tonsillitis. Parents need education on how to manage these common conditions in an era of resistant antibiotics.
