Southern medical journal
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Southern medical journal · May 2015
Pediatric Staphylococcus aureus Infections: Impact of Methicillin Resistance at a Canadian Center.
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) causes a wide spectrum of potentially serious infections in children. This study describes the evolving experience with S. aureus infections at a Canadian tertiary pediatric care center serving a wide geographic area. ⋯ MRSA contributed to a significant proportion of S. aureus infections at a large Canadian tertiary care center. Ample opportunities exist to develop stewardship protocols, especially for the management of soft tissue infections in outpatients.
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Southern medical journal · May 2015
Assessment of appropriate antibiotic prescribing for urinary tract infections in an internal medicine clinic.
Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are one of the most common infections encountered in ambulatory care and inpatient settings. Although these infections are common, not all patients are prescribed an appropriate antibiotic or duration of therapy. The primary objective of this analysis was to evaluate the appropriateness of antibiotic selection and duration of therapy for patients in an adult internal medicine clinic diagnosed as having a UTI. ⋯ Receiving an adequate antibiotic regimen for a UTI is important to prevent treatment failure and the emergence of resistant organisms. Overall, the studied antibiotic regimens prescribed for various UTIs diagnosed in the clinic did not align with the IDSA recommendations.
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Southern medical journal · Apr 2015
Effectiveness of a federal Healthy Start Program on HIV/AIDS risk reduction among women in Hillsborough County, Florida.
To examine the impact of the Central Hillsborough Healthy Start Project (CHHS) on human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) diagnosis rates in women in Hillsborough County, Florida. ⋯ Lessons learned from the CHHS Project can be used to develop effective and comprehensive models for addressing the HIV epidemic.
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Southern medical journal · Apr 2015
Comparative StudyA comparison of medical students' learning approaches between the first and fourth years.
We hypothesized that medical students exposed to a case-based curriculum in years 1 and 2 and clinical cases in the year 3 clerkship would demonstrate a longitudinal increase in the deep approach to learning and a decrease in the surface apathetic approach. ⋯ The deep approach to learning is a complex process and did not change in our students after 3 years of medical school, even though a case-based curriculum was believed to foster deeper learning. By the end of year 3, our students were, on average, less bound to syllabi and feared failure less.
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Southern medical journal · Apr 2015
Outcomes of lobar and sublobar resections for non-small-cell lung cancer: a single-center experience.
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related mortality in the United States. Kentucky has the highest age-adjusted lung cancer rate and has one of the highest death rates from lung cancer in the country. Lobectomy is considered the standard therapy for non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), whereas sublobar resection remains an option for selected patients. We investigated outcomes in patients having standard resections for lung cancer (lobectomy) compared with those having sublobar resections in a population with high prevalence of, and with a high death rate from, lung cancer. ⋯ Sublobar resections for NSCLC have less morbidity compared with lobectomy, but at the cost of decreased long-term survival. These results imply that surgeons select patients for lobar or sublobar resections based on physiologic and functional parameters, and that differences in outcomes between these two groups reflect this selection bias. We suspect that these results are typical of surgical treatment of NSCLC in a heterogeneous high-risk population with a high penetration and prevalence of lung cancer.