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A quality improvement intervention aimed at improving palliative care in the ICU resulted in improvements of nurse-assessed quality of dying and a reduction in ICU length of stay, but no changes in family perceptions of quality of dying or satisfaction with care.
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Khan et al report a multicenter trial comparing pulmonary vein isolation vs AV junctional ablation with biventricular pacing in patients with atrial fibrillation and heart failure.
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The risk of recurrent venous thromboembolism (VTE) during extended anticoagulant therapy for thrombophilia remains poorly defined. Investigators analyzed 661 patients with idiopathic VTE who had been randomized to extended prophylaxis after three months of initial anticoagulation using either low-intensity (INR 1.5-1.9) or standard-intensity (INR 2.0-3.0) anticoagulation. Thrombophilic defects were identified in 42% of patients. The rate of recurrent VTE of only 0.9% per patient year was not influenced by thrombophilic abnormalities. Antiphospholipid antibodies trended toward increased recurrence (HR, 2.9; 95% CI: 0.9-10.5). The presence of thrombophilic defects did not increase the risk of recurrent VTE during extended anticoagulation relative to patients with idiopathic VTE without thrombophilic defects.
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Years ago, we tried to reach Ruth Carrico for a story and she came in from hospital curbside where she was running a drive-through flu shot campaign. The slogan? It wouldnt be the first time you killed a bug with your car.
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Having cast a cold eye on hospitals, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will next develop plans to improve infection prevention in ambulatory settings and long-term care, Hospital Infection Control & Prevention has learned.
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Most people in health care would agree that damage control is critical to the success of their productivity.
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The infection prevention community has lost a high-placed ally, as Julie Gerberding, MD, has stepped down as director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as part of the political changes of the new administration. A new director had not been named as this issue went to press.
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Hospitals are stuck in a holding pattern in their sharps safety programs. Injury rates dropped dramatically after the implementation of safer sharps in 2001, but many facilities have since reached a plateau.
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In a case that recalls the national turmoil during the Florida HIV dental outbreak in the early 1990s, investigators have determined that HIV provider-to-patient infections remain exceedingly rare.
