Aggressive approach to CVD reduces MI, folic acid and vitamin B12 for CAD, corticosteroids for acute exacerbations of COPD, prescription drug abuse among young adults, and ARBs and cancer risk
Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) is a common and severe nosocomial infection which is being seen with alarming frequency in hospitalized patients.
For this study of bacterial contamination of the cell phones of health care workers in a teaching hospital in Saudi Arabia, the investigators swabbed the screen, dialing pad, and sides of the phones and used standard culture techniques.
In this issue: Lorcaserin submitted for FDA review, FDA advisory panel votes against phentermine/topiramate, mixed vote on rosiglitazone, advisory panel votes to remove breast cancer indication from bevacizumab labeling, no increase in seizures found with DTaP vaccine, new REMS for quinine.
Daily chest radiographs have long been a staple of practice for intubated patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) and their use persists despite several studies questioning whether they are of any benefit to patients.
Unroe and associates prospectively enrolled 126 consecutive survivors of prolonged mechanical ventilation, along with their surrogates, and followed them for 1 year after discharge from the ICU.
A randomized controlled trial showed that low-dose colchicine, 1.2 mg initially followed by 0.6 mg at 1 hour, was equally effective with fewer side effects as high-dose colchicine, eight 0.6 mg pills over 6 hours. The < 40% response rate with 23% getting diarrhea in the low-dose group calls into question whether colchicine is the superior choice over NSAIDs for acute gout.
