Tag: treatment
Strategies for Optimizing Diagnostic Predictive Value of Clostridium difficile
Because nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs) do not distinguish Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) and asymptomatic C. difficile carriage, the diagnostic predictive value of NAATs is limited when used in patients with... read more
Viral coinfection is shaped by host ecology and virus-virus interactions across diverse microbial taxa and environments
Infection of more than one virus in a host, coinfection, is common across taxa and environments. Viral coinfection can enable genetic exchange, alter the dynamics of infections, and change the course of viral evolution. Yet,... read more
Serial Procalcitonin Predicts Mortality in Severe Sepsis Patients
Objectives: To prospectively validate that the inability to decrease procalcitonin levels by more than 80% between baseline and day 4 is associated with increased 28-day all-cause mortality in a large sepsis patient population... read more
Manual vs. Integrated Automatic Load-distributing Band CPR with Equal Survival after out of Hospital Cardiac Arrest
Between March 5, 2009 and January 11, 2011 a randomized, unblinded, controlled group sequential trial of adult out-of-hospital cardiac arrests of presumed cardiac origin was conducted at three US and two European sites. After... read more
Big Data Detects Sepsis In Major Hospitals
Data analytics have found that large medical facilities have higher rates of death from sepsis than their smaller hospital counterparts. Researchers from Houston Methodist Hospital recently used Big Data analytics to learn... read more
Hemodialysis and Survival in Intubated Salicylate-Poisoned Patients
Salicylate-poisoned patients can be incredibly complex and severely ill. Secondary to the significant acid-base abnormalities that can accompany salicylate poisoning, hemodialysis (HD) is sometimes required to facilitate... read more
Post Intubation Hypotension: The AH SHITE mnemonic
Here is a crowd sourced approach that will allow most etiologies of post intubation hypotension to be identified: The AH SHITE mnemonic is something that you can quickly run through en route to the patient’s room, or at... read more
Clinical summaries for hospitalised patients: time for higher standards
The average person remembers less than half of the information provided by healthcare professionals during a medical visit. The situation is arguably most challenging for patients leaving the hospital, where acute illness,... read more
Antipyretic Therapy in Critically Ill Septic Patients
This meta-analysis aimed to examine the impact of antipyretic therapy on mortality in critically ill septic adults. Inclusion criteria were observational or randomized studies of septic patients, evaluation of antipyretic... read more
Changing Mindsets to Enhance Treatment Effectiveness
This Viewpoint defines mindsets - frames of mind that orient beliefs or expectations - discusses how they can influence patients' perceptions about treatment and self-efficacy, and proposes ways physicians might shape... read more
Lung Microbiome: Key to Respiratory Ills?
Recently, JAMA discussed this research and its potential clinical applications with 2 experts on the front lines, Jack Gilbert, PhD, a microbial ecologist at the University of Chicago and director of its new Microbiome Center... read more
Pricey Technology Is Keeping People Alive Who Don’t Want to Live
As an ICU physician, I’ve used technologies like breathing machines and feeding tubes to save lives that would have been lost just a few decades earlier. But I’ve also seen the substantial costs, both human and financial,... read more
Early, Goal-Directed Therapy for Septic Shock
After a single-center trial and observational studies suggesting that early, goal-directed therapy (EGDT) reduced mortality from septic shock, three multicenter trials (ProCESS, ARISE, and ProMISe) showed no benefit. This... read more
How Redesigning The Abrasive Alarms Of Hospital Soundscapes Can Save Lives
After a recent hospital stay filled with frightening, uselessly beeping gadgets, an ambient musician set to work reinventing the aural landscape of medicine, to make life calmer for patients and easier for doctors. ... read more
Placebo Plus Usual Treatment Achieves Clinically Significant Back Pain Relief
A placebo of a pill added to treatment as usual for chronic low back pain resulted in clinically significant improvements in patients who were informed about the placebo beforehand, according to a new study from Portugal. All... read more
Perceptions of the Appropriateness of Care in California Adult ICUs
Increased demand for expensive intensive care unit (ICU) services may contribute to rising health-care costs. A focus on appropriate use may offer a clinically meaningful way of finding the balance. Thirty-eight percent of... read more
Clinical review: The ABC of weaning failure
About 20% to 30% of patients are difficult to wean from invasive mechanical ventilation. The pathophysiology of difficult weaning is complex. Accordingly, determining the reason for difficult weaning and subsequently developing... read more
