Hospital Medicine Alert – April 1, 2012

April 1, 2012

• Rivaroxaban After Acute Coronary Syndrome

  After acute coronary syndromes (ACS), patients remain at risk for recurrent cardiovascular events.

  Read more

• Beta-Lactam Therapy of Urinary Tract Infection Fails Again

  The increasing prevalence of antibiotic resistance in urinary pathogens has led Hooton and colleagues to examine the efficacy of a relatively broad spectrum orally administered cephalosporin in the treatment of uncomplicated cystitis.

  Read more

• Treating VAP: The Importance of Getting Initial Antibiotic Coverage Right

  In this study in which all patients with clinically suspected ventilator-associated pneumonia were given prompt empiric antibiotic therapy, whether that therapy turned out to be appropriate for the organisms recovered turned out to be an important determinant of patient outcomes.

  Read more

• Critical Care Clinicians Require Critical Communication Skills

  This article provides many excellent suggestions and strategies for improving communication among the members of the critical care team to reduce medical errors.

  Read more

• False Labor

  Patients with preterm contractions, who subsequently were diagnosed to have false labor and discharged, do not have an increased risk for early preterm birth, neonatal mortality, or lower Apgar scores. However, they do have a slightly greater chance of delivering in the late preterm period (34 to 36 weeks).

  Read more

• Why Is the QRS Wide?

  Interpret the rhythm strip shown above. The widened beats on the tracing are not ventricular. What else might they be?

  Read more