Hospital Medicine Alert
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Oral Nutritional Supplementation for Hospitalized COPD Patients Pays Off
<>In contrast to many of the other top 10 causes of death in the United States, COPD deaths are increasing, such that COPD is now the third most common cause of death. Although a variety of pharmacologic interventions are available to improve symptoms and decrease exacerbations, none has been shown to reduce mortality. -
Tighter Blood Pressure Control Post-Intracranial Hemorrhage May Decrease Recurrence
Fifty percent of stroke-related morbidity and mortality are related to intracerebral hemorrhage.
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Does Bacteremia Associated with Bone and Joint Infections Require Prolonged IV Antibiotic Therapy?
Two hundred sixty-five previously healthy children with culture-proven acute bone or joint infection (age range 3 months to 15 years) were studied. -
A Modern Epidemiologic View of Status Epilepticus in the United States
Although definitions have changed, status epilepticus is presently defined as a prolonged seizure or multiple seizures with incomplete return to baseline function lasting longer than 5 minutes. -
Antibiotics for Acute Appendicitis
Appendectomy has been the treatment for acute appendicitis since the late nineteenth century. During the past decade, the notion of treating acute appendicitis with antibiotics alone has been proposed and evaluated in several clinical trials. However, these trials have been criticized because of methodological limitations.
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Is Peripheral Intravenous Administration of Vasopressors Really Safe?
Vasoactive medications are most commonly administered through central venous catheters -
Emergent Vascular Access: Is Intraosseous Better Than Central Venous Catheter Placement?
Traditionally, the easiest vascular access has been placement of a triple lumen catheter in the femoral vein, as anatomic landmarks here are often easier to identify than other areas, minimizing the need for ultrasound assistance. -
Cryptogenic Stroke and Atrial Fibrillation
In large prospective databases of ischemic stroke, cryptogenic stroke occurs in as many as 30% of all ischemic stroke patients. Many of these patients have the characteristics of cardioembolic stroke, and there has always been a strong suspicion that some of these patients have atrial fibrillation.
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Antibiotics for Intra-abdominal Infections: Less Is More
Complicated intra-abdominal infections cause significant morbidity and mortality, especially in the elderly. Often these infections are treated with antibiotics until all the signs and symptoms of the systemic inflammatory response syndrome resolve, typically for 7 to 14 days.
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Duration of Antibiotic Treatment for Vertebral Osteomyelitis
Three hundred fifty-nine patients with pyogenic vertebral osteomyelitis were randomized to 6 weeks vs. 12 weeks of antibiotic treatment in an open-label controlled trial. Six weeks of antibiotics was found to be not inferior to 12 weeks of treatment.