The American journal of medicine
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To estimate (1) the prevalence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection in emergency department (ED) patients, (2) the frequency of blood contact (BC) in ED workers (EDWs), (3) the efficacy of gloves in preventing BC, and (4) the risk of HIV infection in EDWs due to BC. ⋯ In both inner-city and suburban EDs, patient HIV seroprevalence varies with patient demographics and clinical presentation; the infection status of most HIV-positive patients is unknown to ED staff. The risk to an EDW of occupationally acquiring HIV infection varies by ED location and the nature and frequency of BC; this risk can be reduced by adherence to universal precautions.
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To characterize the clinical course and outcomes of reported cases of splenic hemorrhage during thrombolytic or anticoagulant therapy. ⋯ Splenic hemorrhage associated with anticoagulant or thrombolytic therapy is a rare entity. It may be lethal, especially when associated with lytic therapy. Reversal of the anticoagulated or lytic state and emergent splenectomy are the treatment of choice. Splenic hemorrhage can mimic acute myocardial infarction and cardiogenic shock and must be considered when the condition of cardiac patients receiving lytic or anticoagulant drugs suddenly deteriorates.
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Comparative Study
Drug therapy of the idiopathic inflammatory myopathies: predictors of response to prednisone, azathioprine, and methotrexate and a comparison of their efficacy.
To identify factors associated with responses to treatment with prednisone, methotrexate, or azathioprine in patients with idiopathic inflammatory myopathy, and to compare the efficacy of these drugs. ⋯ Determining the clinical group, autoantibody status, and time from disease onset to diagnosis of patients with myositis provides useful information in predicting clinical responses to therapy, and these factors should be considered in designing future therapeutic trials. Methotrexate therapy may be superior to either azathioprine or further steroid treatment alone in certain patients who do not respond completely to an initial adequate course of prednisone.
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Patients with large myocardial infarction (MI) presenting with clinical signs of heart failure are at increased risk for subsequent development of cardiogenic shock and death. Little is known, however, about the development of cardiogenic shock among patients with acute MI presenting without clinical signs of heart failure. The aim of the present study was to examine the incidence, predictors for occurrence, and outcome of in-hospital development of cardiogenic shock among patients with acute MI without heart failure on admission. ⋯ (1) A significant proportion of MI patients who developed cardiogenic shock during hospitalization were free of heart failure on admission. (2) Our study identified several risk factors facilitating early identification of subgroups at risk for cardiogenic shock within otherwise low-risk patients.