Several decades ago, two patients arrived in my emergency department with intense vomiting, bronchorrhea, and seizure-like activity. Their symptoms started about 30 minutes after consuming a mushroom stew. The wife considered herself to be an expert in mushroom identification and had picked several species of mushrooms, including a few very large ones with bright red tops. Both patients required intubation and several milligrams of atropine to handle their bronchial secretions. Several hours before, they had eaten a mushroom stew containing mushrooms they had picked that morning.
In this study, Freeman and colleagues analyzed data from the National Cardiovascular Data Registry-ICD Registry (NCDR-ICD Registry) to examine the effects of physician procedure volume on in-hospital complications and death.
Newer, more sensitive troponin assays have the potential to identify acute myocardial infarction (AMI) earlier, but some detect troponin in 50% of normal populations, which renders them clinically useless.
This retrospective study of all non-psychiatric patients admitted to an academic medical center found that although those placed in contact isolation from the time of admission had no increased risk for delirium, patients moved into isolation after admission were twice as likely to develop delirium during the hospital stay.
Patients have referred to receiving mechanical ventilatory support as, "the most inhumane ever experienced".... While mechanical ventilation is one of the most commonly used treatment modalities in the ICU, this life-saving modality causes great anxiety, distress, and discomfort in patients.
In this issue: New treatment for prostate cancer; avastin and breast cancer; new CMS disclosure rule; and FDA actions.