Arch Intern Med
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Data on iatrogenic diseases (IDs) have been recorded for the past 25 years. We determined whether aging of the general population and medical advances, including more powerful drugs and complex procedures, have altered the incidence, causes, and consequences of severe IDs during this period. ⋯ Iatrogenic diseases are a persistent and important reason for admission to the ICU, and the risk factors, causes, and consequences remain unchanged since 1980. Despite 25 years of experience with high-technology medicine, ID still has a negative impact on the health and resources of society.
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Advance directives have not been uniformly used by different segments of the US population and studies have consistently shown a lower prevalence of advance directives among African Americans and Hispanics compared with non-Hispanic whites. ⋯ Differences in health care proxy completion rates across white, African American, and Hispanic elderly individuals in this New York City population seem to be related to potentially reversible barriers such as lack of knowledge and the perceived irrelevance of advance directives in the setting of involved family. Enhanced educational efforts of both health care personnel and patients could increase the rate of formal health care proxy appointment.
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The clinical pattern and long-term course of chronic inferior vena cava (IVC) obstructions are variable and depend on the underlying cause, the segment involved, and the extension of secondary thrombosis. Pertinent data on IVC obstructions in well-defined series of patients are lacking. We report the sequelae of chronic IVC obstructions in the hepatic segment in 11 consecutive patients derived from a cohort of 104 patients with alveolar echinococcosis of the liver. ⋯ In patients with alveolar echinococcosis, obstruction of the IVC in the hepatic segment often develops asymptomatically and rarely leads to the impairment of renal function. The collateral circulation fully compensates for obstruction of the IVC. Thrombotic involvement and valvular incompetence of the femoropopliteal veins seems to determine the development of chronic venous insufficiency of the lower extremities.
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Musculoskeletal complaints are common and often unexplained and often lead to rheumatology referrals. The prevalence of psychiatric disease in patients with musculoskeletal complaints is unknown. ⋯ Forty percent of patients referred to a rheumatology clinic in this study had a psychiatric disorder, and its presence predicted a lower likelihood of a connective tissue disease. Prospective studies are needed to determine if screening for psychiatric disease before referring patients with unexplained musculoskeletal complaints would reduce costs or improve recognition of potentially treatable psychiatric disorders.
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To determine the relation to cost of different aspects of the management of primary care among group practices within a health maintenance organization network. ⋯ Results of this study demonstrate substantial variation in the management of primary care among group practices participating in a health maintenance organization network. These differences are associated with significant variation in the nonhospital cost of care for enrollees.