The American journal of medicine
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Health care-associated infections are those that do not meet the definition of nosocomial but are acquired by patients with extensive exposure to the health care system placing them at higher risk for resistant organisms. This category is particularly common among elderly patients. The objective of this study was to describe and compare the epidemiologic characteristics of community-acquired, health care-associated and nosocomial bloodstream infections in a geriatric population. ⋯ The category of health care-associated infection identified a unique group of geriatric patients at increased risk of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infection and with increased mortality.
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There are limited data for prognostic and diagnostic use of natriuretic peptides in intensive care unit (ICU) patients. We evaluate amino-terminal brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) in the medical ICU, specifically its correlation with noncardiac admission diagnosis and prognosis of critically ill patients. ⋯ For patients admitted to the ICU without decompensated heart failure or acute coronary syndrome, NT-proBNP concentrations are markedly elevated, especially in patients with sepsis. NT-proBNP strongly and independently predicts mortality. However, NT-proBNP should not be used to direct volume management in critically ill patients.
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Transferrin saturation is widely considered the preferred screening test for hemochromatosis. Unsaturated iron-binding capacity has similar performance at lower cost. However, the within-person biological variability of both these tests may limit their ability at commonly used cut points to detect HFE C282Y homozygous patients. ⋯ The within-person biological variability of transferrin saturation and unsaturated iron-binding capacity limits their usefulness as an initial screening test for expressing C282Y homozygotes.
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In July 2003, the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education instituted residency duty-hours requirements in response to growing concerns regarding clinician fatigue and the incidence of medical errors. These changes, which limited maximum continuous hours worked and total hours per week, often resulted in increased discontinuity of care. The objective of this study was to assess the impact of the duty-hours restrictions on quality of care and outcomes of patients with acute coronary syndrome. ⋯ Implementation of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education residency duty-hours restrictions on an academic inpatient cardiology service was associated with improved quality of care and efficiency in patients admitted with acute coronary syndrome. In addition, improved efficiency did not adversely impact patient outcomes, including mortality.