Journal of general internal medicine
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To determine the rates of immediate survival and survival to discharge for adult patients undergoing in-hospital cardiopulmonary resuscitation, and to identify demographic and clinical variables associated with these outcomes. ⋯ When talking with patients, physicians can describe the overall likelihood of surviving discharge as 1 in 8 for patients who undergo cardiopulmonary resuscitation and 1 in 3 for patients who survive cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
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The use of aspirin for primary prevention of cardiovascular events in the general population is controversial. The purpose of this study was to create a versatile model to evaluate the effects of aspirin in the primary prevention of cardiovascular events in patients with different risk profiles. ⋯ The decision of whether to take aspirin as primary prevention for cardiovascular events depends on patient risk. It is a harmful intervention for patients with no risk factors, and it is beneficial in moderate and high-risk patients. The benefits of aspirin in this population are comparable to those of other widely accepted preventive strategies. It is especially dependent on the patient's risk profile, patient preferences for the adverse effects of aspirin, and on the level of beneficial effects of aspirin on cardiovascular-related mortality.
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Comparative Study
Measures of functional status in community-dwelling elders.
To evaluate two performance-based measures of functional status and assess their correlation with self-report measures. ⋯ Performance-based measures correlated highly with each other and moderately with questionnaire-based measures. Performance-based measures also had construct validity and did not suffer from floor or ceiling effects.
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The confluence of enhanced attention to primary care and palliative care education presents educators with an opportunity to improve both (as well as patient care) through integrated teaching. Improvements in palliative care education will have benefits for dying patients and their families, but will also extend to the care of many other primary care patients, including geriatric patients and those with chronic illnesses, who make up a large proportion of the adult primary care population. In addition, caring for the dying, and teaching others to carry out this task, can be an important vehicle for personal and professional growth and development for both students and their teachers.