Annals of the American Thoracic Society
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Multicenter Study
The Prevalence and Significance of Staphylococcus aureus in Patients with Non-Cystic Fibrosis Bronchiectasis.
Staphylococcus aureus is commonly cultured from the sputum of patients with bronchiectasis; however, little is known about the prevalence of the organism in these patients, the characteristics of patients who have grown the organism, or its implications. ⋯ Staphylococcus aureus does not appear to be an independent risk factor for severe disease in patients with bronchiectasis enrolled in the Bronchiectasis Research Registry.
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Multicenter Study Pragmatic Clinical Trial
Comparative Effectiveness of Proactive Tobacco Treatment among Smokers with and without Chronic Lower Respiratory Disease.
Adults with chronic lower respiratory disease differ in their barriers to smoking cessation but also suffer from tobacco-related health concerns, which may motivate quit attempts. Few studies have examined differences in tobacco treatment response between smokers with and without chronic lower respiratory disease. ⋯ Smokers with chronic lower respiratory disease may be more likely to respond to a proactive outreach intervention for tobacco cessation treatment than those without chronic lower respiratory disease. Clinical trial registered with www.clinicaltrials.gov (NCT 00608426).
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Physicians are increasingly being held accountable for patient outcomes, yet their specific contribution to the outcomes remains uncertain. ⋯ Intensivists independently contribute to outcomes of Medicare patients who undergo mechanical ventilation, as evidenced by the variation in risk-adjusted mortality across intensivists. However, physician experience does not underlie this relationship between intensivists, suggesting the need to identify modifiable physician factors to improve outcomes.