Internal Medicine Alert
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Patients Need to Rethink the ‘Quality’ in Healthcare
Increasingly, patient satisfaction is an important and commonly used surrogate marker for healthcare quality. Further, reimbursement to physicians may be based on patient satisfaction as a “quality” metric. But the evidence linking a patient’s subjective sense of satisfaction and the actual delivery of quality care remains tenuous.
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Healthcare-Associated Infections: Better, But Not There Yet
One-day prevalence studies demonstrated that there was a 16% reduction in the risk of healthcare-associated infections from 2011 to 2015.
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Factors Associated With Urinary Tract Infections Caused by Multidrug-Resistant Gram-Negative Bacteria
The authors of a multicenter, retrospective, cohort study from southern and eastern Europe identified predictive factors for multidrug-resistant complicated urinary tract infections.
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A Review of Updated Guidelines Regarding Bradycardia and Cardiac Conduction Delay
The American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task Force on Clinical Practice Guidelines and the Heart Rhythm Society have established updated guidelines on the evaluation and management of patients with bradycardia and conduction delays. Many key elements remain largely unchanged from prior guideline recommendations on pacemakers published in 2008 and 2012, but there are important new definitions, recommendations, and areas of emphasis.
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Omadacycline Injection and Tablets (Nuzyra)
The FDA has approved a broad-spectrum antibiotic for the treatment of community-acquired bacterial pneumonia and acute bacterial skin and skin structure infections.
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Nocturia: Does Salt Intake Play a Role?
Researchers suggest that excessive salt intake can contribute to urinary frequency and nocturia.
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Exercise Improves Physical Function in Patients With Knee Osteoarthritis
Tailored exercise therapy can improve physical functioning in patients with knee osteoarthritis and comorbid conditions.
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Limited English Proficiency Associated With Significant Differences in End-of-Life Care
In a retrospective cohort study, patients with limited English proficiency had lower rates of do not resuscitate orders, comfort measures orders, and advance directives; higher rates of receiving certain types of life support; and longer hospital stays compared to their English-speaking counterparts.
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The Mediterranean Diet Keeps the Mind Sharp
Italian seniors who ate a high-quality Mediterranean diet exhibited better cognitive function than those who did not.
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What Does the Sinus P Look Like?
The ECG in the figure was obtained from a woman in her 50s who complained of intermittent chest discomfort in recent weeks. She was hemodynamically stable at the time this tracing was obtained. How might one interpret the ECG?