Doctor Turns Up Possible Treatment For Deadly Sepsis

Doctor Turns Up Possible Treatment For Deadly Sepsis

It is hard not to get excited about news of a potentially effective treatment for sepsis, a condition that leads to multiple organ failure and kills more people in the hospital than any other disease. The study, from Eastern... read more

Decreased cytokine production by mononuclear cells after severe gram-negative infections

Decreased cytokine production by mononuclear cells after severe gram-negative infections

Failure of circulating monocytes for adequate cytokine production is a trait of sepsis-induced immunosuppression; however, its duration and association with final outcome are poorly understood. Defective TNF-α production... read more

New Guidelines for Accurate Diagnosis of C. difficile Infection

New Guidelines for Accurate Diagnosis of C. difficile Infection

Clostridium difficile infection (CDI), a potentially lethal bacterial infection, causes colon inflammation and is responsible for 3,700 deaths in Europe per year. This highly symptomatic infection causes fever, diarrhea,... read more

The Sick Bowel Obstruction Patient

The Sick Bowel Obstruction Patient

A 68-year-old female presents to the ED with abdominal pain, bloating, and nausea which she states began this morning upon wakening about 3 hours prior to arrival. She appears moderately uncomfortable and pale. She is urgently... read more

Electronic Dura Mater Meddling in the Central Nervous System

Electronic Dura Mater Meddling in the Central Nervous System

This review of preclinical applications assesses the potential of the electronic dura mater to deliver electrical and chemical stimulation to targeted areas of the central nervous system for extended periods. Soft neural... read more

Thrombocytosis in the ED

Thrombocytosis in the ED

Both reactive thrombocytosis and clonal thrombocytosis may be associated with vasomotor symptoms. The key difference is that thrombotic and bleeding events are much more common in myeloproliferative thrombocytosis, whereas... read more

Crizanlizumab use lowers rates of sickle cell crises

Crizanlizumab use lowers rates of sickle cell crises

Patients with sickle cell disease treated with high-dose crizanlizumab experienced lower annualized rates of sickle cell crisis compared to placebo treatment, regardless of their baseline use of hydroxyurea. Those treated... read more

Exacerbation of COPD: Causes, Warning Signs, and Treatment

Exacerbation of COPD: Causes, Warning Signs, and Treatment

What is a COPD exacerbation and what are the main causes? Learn about what the symptoms are and what is suggested to try to prevent COPD. Most commonly referred to as COPD, the term describes emphysema and chronic bronchitis.... read more

SOFA score may be best to identify sepsis in the ICU

SOFA score may be best to identify sepsis in the ICU

Among critically ill patients admitted to the ICU with a suspected infection, defining sepsis by an increase of two or more points in the Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score yielded greater prognostic accuracy... read more

Towards precision medicine for sepsis patients

Towards precision medicine for sepsis patients

Over the last decade it has become clear that the immunological response and clinical course in sepsis patients is too complex to simply regard it as hyperinflammation-induced organ failure. In contrast to the previous belief... read more

GCA independently raises risk for VTE

GCA independently raises risk for VTE

The risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE) increases markedly shortly before the diagnosis of giant cell arteritis (GCA) regardless of glucocorticoid exposure, peaks at the time of diagnosis, and then progressively declines,... read more

COPD and Life Expectancy

COPD and Life Expectancy

COPD is the third leading cause of death after heart disease and cancer. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is a term for many health conditions that affect a person's lungs on a chronic basis. The condition causes... read more

Normal Saline as Resuscitation Fluid in Critically Ill

Normal Saline as Resuscitation Fluid in Critically Ill

The study of Van Regenmortel et al. indirectly underscores growing equipoise in the expert medical community regarding the presumed harmful effects of NS compared with balanced crystalloids. Future studies, such as the ongoing... read more

Clinical challenge in IBD expanded by Systemic inflammation

Clinical challenge in IBD expanded by Systemic inflammation

More targeted antibody therapies carry the potential to transform how physicians treat inflammatory bowel disease. However, management can become less clear when IBD patients present with extra-intestinal manifestations.... read more