International journal of general medicine
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Up to 80% of sore throats are caused by viruses. Several over the counter products are available which provide symptomatic, not causal relief. For such lozenges, containing the antiseptics and local anesthetics amylmetacresol (AMC) and 2,4-dichlorobenzyl alcohol (DCBA) or hexylresorcinol (HR), recently an additional virucidal effect was published. ⋯ In another experiment, we showed that binding and inactivation of virus particles by iota-carrageenan are fast and highly effective. During the residence time of the lozenge in the mouth, the viral titer is reduced by 85% and 91% for influenza A virus and hCoV OC43, respectively. Carrageenan-containing lozenges are, therefore, suitable as causative therapy against viral infections of the throat.
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Code status discussion is associated with a decrease in invasive procedures among terminally ill cancer patients. We investigated the association between code status discussion on admission and incidence of invasive procedures, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), and opioid use among inpatients with advanced stages of cancer and noncancer diseases. ⋯ Code status discussion on admission is associated with a decrease in invasive procedures and CPR in cancer and noncancer patients. Physicians should be educated about code status discussion to improve end-of-life care.
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Prior studies concentrated on unplanned intensive care unit (ICU) transfer to gauge deterioration occurring shortly following hospital admission. However, examining only ICU transfers is not ideal since patients could stabilize with treatment, refuse ICU admission, or not require ICU evaluation. To further explore etiologies of early clinical deterioration, we used rapid response team (RRT) activation within 48 hours of admission as an index of early clinical worsening. ⋯ Disease trajectory accounted for most clinical deterioration and medical error contributed to 15%. Our data suggest that it is difficult to predict early clinical deterioration as none of the measured parameters were associated with RRT activation.