Southern medical journal
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Southern medical journal · Jul 1998
Decrease in costs for management of lower airway disease in the pediatric intensive care unit.
We investigated whether a recently restructured pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) had a decrease in the cost of patient care over the years. ⋯ The costs of management for these previously healthy patients treated for lower airway disease decreased over the study period. We speculate that the time related decrease in costs is a reflection of the learning curve of the pediatric critical care team. The decrease in POC did not shift costs to other areas of the hospital.
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Southern medical journal · Jun 1998
Patient-controlled anesthesia for colonoscopy using propofol: results of a pilot study.
We studied the feasibility of using patient-controlled anesthesia (PCA) for conscious sedation during colonoscopy. ⋯ Patient-controlled anesthesia is feasible for use in endoscopic sedation. Propofol alone did not allow adequate pain relief, but propofol and alfentanil together seemed to provide good control of pain.
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Southern medical journal · Jun 1998
HIV-1-associated Kaposi's sarcoma in a predominantly black population at an inner city hospital.
Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) associated with human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) is the most common malignancy in patients with AIDS. It has been most commonly reported in white homosexual men, though a few cases have been reported in blacks. ⋯ The predominant risk factor for HIV-1-associated KS was homosexual or bisexual activity. Only a few women with KS were identified, and they also reported sexual transmission from male bisexuals and/or drug users. Poor survival was associated with CD4 <200, stage III and IV KS at presentation, and opportunistic infections.
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Southern medical journal · Jun 1998
Case ReportsSchistosomiasis of the urinary bladder in an African immigrant to North Carolina.
A 30-year-old black man came to the emergency department with gross hematuria, prostatitis, and urethritis 4 months after immigrating to this country from the Sudan in Africa. Urinalysis revealed hematuria and no ova or parasites. An intravenous urogram showed normal kidneys and ureters. ⋯ The patient was treated with praziquantel and is currently asymptomatic. Over 200 million people are infected with schistosomiasis worldwide, yet this disease is rarely encountered in this country. The differential diagnosis and assessment of patients must include exposure to uncommon diseases that are endemic to other geographic regions.