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This pilot study reports that dexmedetomidine might be the sedative of choice for less ill mechanically ventilated ICU patients who take antidepressant medications at home.
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Hospital-based infection surveillance experts nationwide participated in a survey to access the level of agreement in diagnosing ventilator-associated pneumonia by evaluating six identical case studies. The level of agreement between participants was poor.
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In this large observational study in four hospitals with a standardized rapid response system, among patients with an initial team activation who were not immediately transferred to the ICU, those with one or more additional activations during the hospitalization were more likely to need ICU care and had both longer hospital stays and higher mortality.
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In this prospective study of older ICU patients (mean age, 67 years), frailty as assessed by a simple scale was present in one-third and was strongly associated with increased risk of adverse events, morbidity, and mortality.
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After caring for patients with Clostridium difficile infection, nearly 25% of health care workers were found to have hand contamination with C. difficile spores.
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Group A streptococcus (GAS) may cause disease both by direct infection, termed suppurative disease, and also by the response of the body to an antecedent infection, termed nonsuppurative disease. An invasive GAS infection is defined as one in which GAS can be isolated from a part of the body that is normally sterile, as would be the case in pneumonia but not in pharyngitis.
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Since the introduction of the vaccine against H. influenzae, there has been a significant decrease in the number of children presenting with epiglottitis. Although there is little evidence that the disease has increased in adults, clearly the percentage of cases in adults compared to children has increased. Further, there is greater recognition of milder cases with direct visualization and imaging.
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A 42-year-old female presented to the emergency department (ED) with a complaint of a constant headache that began the day before arrival. The patient was seven days postpartum, having undergone an epidural block and cesarean section.
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When a patient arrived at an emergency department (ED) and reported chest pain, he failed to notify the emergency physician (EP) that he was addicted to opiates. The case involved a patient who suffered a cardiac event while visiting relatives.
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Over-ordering of diagnostic tests is a key focus of policymakers and insurers, but is unlikely to come up during malpractice litigation, according to health care attorneys and risk management experts interviewed by ED Legal Letter.