Journal of general internal medicine
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Multicenter Study
Azithromycin Versus Beta-lactams in Hospitalized Patients with Acute Exacerbations of COPD.
There is a lack of data comparing azithromycin to alternative antibiotic choices in managing COPD exacerbations, making appropriate antibiotic selection controversial. ⋯ Azithromycin was associated with less treatment failure in AECOPD which was driven by lower readmission rates and prescription of new antimicrobials.
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Patients with dementia are frequently hospitalized and may face barriers in post-discharge care. ⋯ Diagnosed dementia was associated with a substantially increased risk of mortality and a modestly increased risk of readmission within 30 days of discharge. Patients with dementia discharged to the community had particularly elevated risk of adverse outcomes indicating possible gaps in post-discharge services and caregiver support.
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Comparative Study
Comparative Effectiveness and Safety of Intrauterine Contraception and Tubal Ligation.
Tubal ligation remains common in the USA, especially among low-income patients. ⋯ NCT03438682.
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Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a common condition with adverse health outcomes addressable by early disease management. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on care utilization for the CKD population is unknown. ⋯ The early COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a marked decline of healthcare services for individuals with CKD, with an incomplete recovery during the later pandemic. Increased telehealth use partially compensated for this deficit. The downstream impact of CKD care reduction on health outcomes requires further study, as does evaluation of effective care delivery models for this population.