Arch Intern Med
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Historically, methods of interrupting pathogen transmission have focused on improving health care workers' adherence to recommended infection control practices. An adjunctive approach may be to use source control (eg, to decontaminate patients' skin). ⋯ Cleansing patients with chlorhexidine-saturated cloths is a simple, effective strategy to reduce VRE contamination of patients' skin, the environment, and health care workers' hands and to decrease patient acquisition of VRE.
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Amino-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) is useful for diagnosis and triage of patients with dyspnea, but its role for predicting outcomes in such patients remains undefined. ⋯ In addition to assisting in emergency department diagnosis and triage, NT-proBNP concentrations at presentation are strongly predictive of 1-year mortality in dyspneic patients.
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There is increasing evidence that C-reactive protein (CRP) concentration, a measure of inflammation, is an independent risk factor for the development of hypertension in older adults. However, it is unknown whether a similar relationship exists in younger individuals. ⋯ C-reactive protein is associated with hypertension in young adults, but in contrast to the finding in older populations, the association is no longer present after adjusting for BMI.