Arch Intern Med
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The incidence of cardiac device infection is not well understood. Bloodstream infection (BSI) in patients with permanent pacemakers or implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (hereafter, defibrillators) may reflect device infection. ⋯ To our knowledge, this is the first population-based study to describe the incidence of cardiac device infection. Device infection was common during episodes of S aureus BSI. The rate of cardiac device infection was higher in patients with defibrillators than in those with pacemakers.
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Excessive prescribing of antipsychotic therapy is a concern owing to their potential to cause serious adverse events. We explored variation in the use of antipsychotic therapy across nursing homes in Ontario, Canada, and determined if prescribing decisions were based on clinical indications. ⋯ Residents in facilities with high antipsychotic prescribing rates were about 3 times more likely than those in facilities with low prescribing rates to be dispensed an antipsychotic agent, irrespective of their clinical indication.
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Patients and physicians strongly endorse the importance of preventive or periodic health examinations (PHEs). However, the extent to which PHEs contribute to the delivery of cancer screening is uncertain. ⋯ Among managed care enrollees eligible for cancer screening, PHE receipt is associated with completion of colorectal, breast, and prostate cancer testing. In similar populations, the PHE may serve as a clinically important forum for the promotion of evidence-based colorectal cancer and breast cancer screening and of screening with relatively less empirical support, such as prostate cancer screening.