JAMA : the journal of the American Medical Association
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To establish (1) the prevalence of positive penicillin skin tests among outpatients with well-defined but variable history of penicillin allergy and (2) the reproducibility, safety, and negative predictive value of skin testing with benzylpenicilloyl polylysine (PPL) and a minor-determinant mixture (MDM). ⋯ Skin testing with both major and minor penicillin determinants is safe using current recommendations, and both reagents are necessary for maximizing the identification of sensitized subjects. Routine penicillin skin testing can facilitate the safe use of penicillin in 90% of individuals with a previous history of penicillin allergy.
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Multicenter Study
Mortality Probability Models (MPM II) based on an international cohort of intensive care unit patients.
To revise and update models in the Mortality Probability Model (MPM II) system to estimate the probability of hospital mortality among 19,124 intensive care unit (ICU) patients that can be used for quality assessment within and among ICUs. ⋯ Among severity systems for intensive care patients, the MPM0 is the only model available for use at ICU admission. Both MPM0 and MPM24 are useful research tools and provide important clinical information when used alone or together.
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To compare all-cause and cause-specific mortality rates between Hispanic and non-Hispanic groups and estimate the effect of family income, place of birth, and place of residence on these rates. ⋯ These data describe, in a large national cohort study, a lower mortality in Hispanics than in non-Hispanics. This mortality is particularly low after adjustment for differences in family income.