-
Undifferentiated shock in trauma should be assumed to be hemorrhagic until proven otherwise. Hemorrhage represents 30-40% of mortality from trauma and may require significant volume to resuscitate.
-
Concussion and mild traumatic brain injury have a risk of serious short- and long-term sequelae.
Concussion is a trauma-induced alteration in mental status, which does not necessarily involve loss of consciousness.
-
After caring for patients with Clostridium difficile infection, nearly 25% of health care workers were found to have hand contamination with C. difficile spores.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
“I can’t afford that test,” “Don’t bother giving me an appointment for a specialist because my insurance won’t cover it,” “I can’t pay for that medication.” When an emergency department (ED) patient makes statements such as this, the emergency physician (EP) is often faced with few or no financial assistance options for the patient to achieve the recommended course of care.
-
In the April 2013 case of Missouri v. McNeely, the Supreme Court ruled that police must generally obtain a warrant before subjecting a drunk-driving suspect to a blood test.
