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The healthcare system in Liberia has had to go through a complete reboot after every single hospital in the city of Monrovia closed down to be decontaminated with bleach water as a result of Ebola cases landing in emergency rooms, outpatient clinics and medical wards
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Pharyngitis is a very common infection resulting in more than 6 million annual office visits by adults in the United States. The ability to distinguish pharyngitis caused by group A streptococci (GAS) from other etiologies (e.g. viruses) is important because untreated GAS can have serious consequences including peritonsillar abscess and rheumatic fever.
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Bedaquiline (a unique diarylquinoline) was studied vs. placebo in a prospective randomized trial when added to a standard 5-drug regimen in the treatment of multidrug-resistant (MDR) tuberculosis. Treatment with bedaquiline when added to a preferred background for 24 weeks resulted in significantly more and faster culture conversion than placebo.
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A 44-year old woman with a history of acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) who recently completed a third-cycle of consolidation chemotherapy with idarubicin and cytarabine presented with fever and abdominal pain.
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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has updated its Ebola infection control guidelines to include a new section on cleaning and disinfection of the patient environment. (See Hospital Infection Control & Prevention Sept. 2014 issue.)
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In an urgent addition to the Ebola situation, federal public health officials have issued a checklist for hospitals to prepare for incoming cases from the expanding outbreak in West Africa. The six-page detailed checklist issued by the Department of Health and Human Services, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response is available at: http://1.usa.gov/1qjDiC9.
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In an August 30, 2014 blog post, Rick Sacra, MD, worried about the many people in Liberia who are at risk because of the Ebola tsunami that swept through an already fragile healthcare system.
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After expanding a successful initiative to cut catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTI) rates, a New Jersey hospitals catheter days and CAUTIs were cut in half.
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There are two angles of attack to cutting catheter-associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI) rates by 25%, and the harder approach involves changing provider behavior.
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The Ebola epidemic in Africa is rapidly overwhelming containment efforts, increasing the threat of spread to other countries and continents while giving the virus ample time to mutate as it burns through the human population in a jungled epicenter that borders three nations.