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Though many infection preventionists are inundated with data reporting requirements and are having difficulty maintaining routine surveillance activities, health care administrators are reluctant to provide them with "data mining" software, the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) reports.
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A variety of highly effective agents for primary insomnia are currently available including benzodiazepines, benzodiazepine receptor agonists, and other classes. Agents that impact the benzodiazepine receptors (i.e., either benzodiazepines or benzodiazepine receptor agonists) are controlled substances and have occasional problematic issues such as misuse, diversion, cognitive clouding, and rebound upon withdrawal.
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In elderly patients hospitalized with heart failure and LVSD, beta-blocker use was clinically effective in reducing mortality and rehospitalization, but patients with preserved systolic function had poor outcomes and beta-blockers did not significantly influence the mortality and rehospitalization rate for these patients.
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Iloperidone is the newest atypical antipsychotic agent to be approved by the FDA. It is chemically similar to risperidone and ziprasidone. Vanda Pharmaceuticals will market iloperidone as Fanapt™.
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In patients with proximal deep vein thrombosis (DVT), tailoring the duration of oral anticoagulation based on serial ultrasonography reduces the rate of recurrent DVT. Prolongation of chronic anticoagulation may accelerate vein recanalization. Residual DVT on ultrasonography is a marker of hypercoagulability.
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For patients with chronic insomnia, sleeping pills in combination with cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) resulted in improved sleep satisfaction during acute therapy, but long- term treatment was enhanced by stopping the medication and continuing only CBT.
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Perhaps no American in medicine is more synonymous with hand hygiene than Elaine Larson, RN, PhD, FAAN, CIC, associate dean for research at the Columbia School of Nursing in New York City. Larson has authored scores of papers on the cardinal principle of infection prevention.
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Recent outbreaks of hepatitis C are a wake-up call to boost infection control practices, particularly in outpatient settings. But they also underscore the prevalence of HCV and the continued occupational risk to health care workers.
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The Centers for Disease Control continues to reassess its infection control guidelines for pandemic influenza A H1N1, but has held to a controversial N95 respirator recommendation due to the possibility of airborne spread that would make standard surgical masks ineffective, said Michael Bell, MD, associate director for Infection Control in the CDC Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion.
