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More than Half of 2024 Measles Cases Hospitalized
A measles outbreak continues to hit Chicago, while surveillance nationally found 113 cases in 18 states as of April 4, 2024. With cases both in the community and in migrant shelters, the Chicago Health Department reported 61 measles infections as of April 11, 2024.
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Predicting Outcomes of Congenital Cytomegalovirus Infection
Congenital cytomegalovirus infection can cause hearing loss and neurologic deficits, but most affected newborns escape without sequelae. New data suggest a good prognosis if the mother’s infection was after the first trimester and if the newborn has normal hearing, a normal platelet count, and a normal head ultrasound exam.
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CDC Issues Alert on Spike in Meningitis
Infection preventionists should be aware of increasing cases of invasive Neisseria meningitidis, which currently are causing an 18% mortality rate and primarily infecting three risk groups: Black people, people with human immunodeficiency virus, and those in the age range of 30 to 60 years, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports in a public health alert.
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All In: If You Share Patients, Collaborate
A regional decolonization collaborative among hospitals and long-term care facilities that commonly share patients led to decreased infections, hospitalizations, costs, and deaths caused by multidrug-resistant organisms, researchers reported.
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Healthcare Diversity, Equity Efforts Under Attack After SCOTUS Ruling
Having seen the raw inequity the pandemic exposed in the healthcare system, one would think it has become harder to deny or rationalize the lack of diversity in caregivers and higher adverse outcomes in marginalized patient populations. But one would be wrong.
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Inappropriate Diagnosis of Pneumonia Is Common in Hospitalized Patients
A cohort study that included 48 hospitals in Michigan found that 12% of patients treated for community-acquired pneumonia were diagnosed inappropriately. Older age, dementia, and presenting with acute change in mental status increased the risk for misdiagnosis.
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Mosquito-Borne Diseases in the 21st Century
Hundreds of millions of people across the globe are affected by mosquito-borne diseases each year, and travelers who do not exercise caution and take preventive measures are at especially high risk. Mosquito-borne diseases are found mostly in tropical and subtropical destinations, ranging from America to Africa and Asia. Chikungunya virus, dengue, filariasis, Japanese encephalitis virus, malaria, West Nile virus, yellow fever, and Zika virus are particular sources of concern for travelers venturing into regions where these vectors abound. This article will focus on these mosquito-borne illnesses, especially the flaviviruses.
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Appellate Court Affirms Trial Court’s Grant of Summary Judgment in Drowning Case
The Georgia Court of Appeals recently upheld a trial court’s decision granting summary judgment to the defendants in a medical malpractice suit following the accidental drowning death of a patient after he was discharged from the hospital.
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Appeals Court Affirms Exclusion of Evidence and Defense Verdict After Delivery of Newborn
A recent medical malpractice case in Ohio provides an important primer on the evidence that plaintiffs can use to try to establish malpractice.
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Nursing Leaders Need Ethicists’ Help with Moral Distress
As an early career nurse in 2020, Preston H. Miller, PhD, RN, CCRN-CMC, PCCN, CFRN, experienced the many effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on nursing practice and healthcare in general. Miller conducted a formal literature review and found that what literature did exist was qualitative in nature. “The findings of this review revealed a lack of research on moral distress among unit-based critical care nurse leaders,” says Miller.