Procalcitonin (PCT) is a laboratory metric that helps to distinguish bacterial from viral infections. PCT measurement has been previously shown to help identify bacterial infections in patients presenting with otitis media and other respiratory infections.
The authors of this meta-analysis conclude that their results support the use of aggressive insulin-lowering therapy to reduce major CV outcomes but not all-cause mortality; further, they recommend vigilance in avoiding hypoglycemia while steadily reducing HbA1c.
The efficacy of percutaneous closure of the LAA with the WATCHMAN® left atrial closure device was found to be non-inferior to that of standard warfarin therapy for prevention of stroke, cardiovascular death, and/or systemic embolism and, therefore, the device might provide an alternative strategy to chronic warfarin therapy for stroke prophylaxis in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation.
The ninth atypical antipsychotic agent has been approved by the FDA. Asenapine is somewhat unique in the class with different receptor binding than risperidone and olanzapine.
World-wide, ectopic pregnancy occurs in approximately 1-2% of pregnant women. Although it likely is underreported, according to CDC data covering 1970-1989, there was nearly a four-fold increase in the incidence of ectopic pregnancy, from 4.5/1000 to 16.0/1000 of all reported pregnancies.
This issue is the second part of a discussion about severe traumatic brain injury (TBI).