Cleveland Clinic journal of medicine
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As many as one third of elderly hospitalized patients become delirious, and most do not fully recover. Delirium may impart a higher mortality rate and may be a marker for future cognitive decline. ⋯ An organized, systematic approach with early diagnosis and treatment may prove to be life-saving in many patients.
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Comparative Study
Use of the sleep laboratory in suspected sleep apnea syndrome: is one night enough?
Sleep-disordered breathing appears to vary widely from night to night in the general population. ⋯ One night of testing should generally suffice. A second recording might be expected to be positive in half of the small group of patients clinically suspected of having sleep apnea who have a negative first study.
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Lactic acidosis, generally defined as a plasma lactate concentration in excess of 5 mmol/L with a concomitant blood pH less than 7.25, is reported to have a direct association with mortality. ⋯ When lactate accumulates in the perioperative period, the responsible condition is most often self-limiting. Reversible, subacute, marked lactic acidosis should not be assumed to predict mortality as it does in patients whose plasma lactate concentrations remain chronically elevated during severe systemic diseases such as sepsis.