The New England journal of medicine
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Each year more than 220,000 Medicare beneficiaries receive care from hospice programs designed to enhance the quality of the end of life. Enrollment requires certification by a physician that the patient has a life expectancy of less than six months. We examined how long before death patients enrolled in hospice programs. ⋯ Most patients who enter hospice care do so late in the course of their terminal illnesses. The timing of enrollment in hospice programs varies substantially with the characteristics of the patients and the hospices.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Clinical Trial
Thrombolytic therapy with streptokinase in acute ischemic stroke.
In patients with acute ischemic stroke, early treatment with thrombolytic agents is thought to permit reperfusion of ischemic neurons and to promote recovery of function. The Multicenter Acute Stroke Trial-Europe (MAST-E) was designed to assess the efficacy and safety of streptokinase in patients with acute ischemic stroke. ⋯ In patients with acute ischemic stroke, treatment with streptokinase resulted in an increase in mortality. The routine use of streptokinase cannot be recommended in acute ischemic stroke.