The American journal of medicine
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Comparative Study
Value of initial chest radiographs for predicting clinical outcomes in patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome.
To determine whether the initial chest radiograph is helpful in predicting the clinical outcome of patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). ⋯ Frontal chest radiographs on presentation may have prognostic value in patients with SARS.
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Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is the sixth most common cause of death in the United States and the leading cause of death from infectious diseases. It is associated with significant morbidity and mortality, and poses a major economic burden to the healthcare system. Streptococcus pneumoniae is the leading cause of CAP. ⋯ Increasing resistance to a variety of antimicrobial agents has been documented in S. pneumoniae and is common in H. influenzae as well. Successful empiric therapy is paramount to the management of CAP to avoid treatment failure and subsequent associated costs. Given that resistance is increasing among respiratory pathogens, and S. pneumoniae is the most common etiologic agent identified in CAP, strategies for antimicrobial therapy should be based on the likely causative pathogen, the presence of risk factors for infection with resistant bacteria, and local resistance patterns.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Differences in treatment outcome for hepatitis C among ethnic groups.
Studies of interferon-based therapies for hepatitis C virus (HCV)-infected patients have documented variable response rates according to ethnicity. However, these studies enrolled low numbers of ethnic minorities. ⋯ Sustained response rates to interferon and ribavirin therapy differ among ethnic groups. Ethnicity appears to be associated with treatment outcomes, even in a model that adjusts for other factors that influence response to therapy.
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Many hospital departments tend to have lower staffing levels on weekends. We evaluated the use of selected urgent procedures for emergently hospitalized patients and measured the time until procedure based upon the day of hospital admission. ⋯ Relatively few urgent procedures are performed in emergently hospitalized patients on the weekend, suggesting that greater attention to weekend care might result in more timely interventions and shorter lengths of stay.