Hospital Medicine Alert – January 1, 2017
January 1, 2017
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VRE and MRSA: Should We Stop Routine Contact Precautions?
SYNOPSIS: The value of routine contact precautions for VRE and MRSA is strongly challenged.
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New Paradigm in the Management of Massive and Submassive Pulmonary Embolism
SYNOPSIS: A multidisciplinary pulmonary embolism response team is a sustainable option to improve care for severe pulmonary embolism.
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Pulmonary Embolism Common Cause for Syncope in Hospitalized Patients
Syncope is a chief complaint for which neurologists often are consulted. In most cases, the neurological concern is possible stroke or an epileptic seizure. However, a variety of cardiopulmonary problems are most often the underlying cause of syncope, including cardiac arrhythmias and pulmonary embolism. The investigators of this study reviewed the clinical records of 560 patients (mean age of 76 years) who were admitted to the hospital with syncope.
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Diastolic Blood Pressure Goals
SYNOPSIS: An analysis of the community-based ARIC study showed that low diastolic blood pressures were associated with higher baseline and subsequent troponin T levels and adverse cardiac events, but not stroke.
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High-flow Nasal Cannula vs. Noninvasive Ventilation in Postextubation Failure
SYNOPSIS: In this multicenter, randomized, clinical trial of critically ill adults at high risk for reintubation, high-flow conditioned oxygen therapy was not inferior to noninvasive mechanical ventilation with regard to preventing reintubation and postextubation respiratory failure within 72 hours of extubation.