Clinical medicine (London, England)
-
The prevalence of smoking remains stubbornly high in the UK despite comprehensive tobacco control measures. A national quality improvement (QI) approach to enhance the treatment of an estimated one million annual hospital admissions of tobacco smokers, could provide a new opportunity to improve population health and reduce healthcare demand. Barriers to QI include knowledge, costs and competing demands. ⋯ Other programme outcomes included increases in QI knowledge, confidence, and attitudes along with enhanced project management skills. This novel, national, online QI programme supported participating multidisciplinary teams in acute trusts across the UK to deliver tobacco dependency treatment pathway improvements using QI tools and methodology. This programme demonstrated the feasibility and effectiveness of delivering a national QI programme, at low cost using a microsystems approach applied to an important area of clinical medicine.
-
Diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) and hyperglycemic hyperosmolar syndrome (HHS) are life-threatening complications of diabetes mellitus. However, limited data about DKA and HHS is available in patients with cancer. The current study aimed to determine characteristics and outcomes of patients with cancer who were admitted with DKA/HHS in a mid-size Canadian city. ⋯ Although DKA or HHS is uncommon in patients with diabetes and cancer, it is the manifestation of undiagnosed diabetes in about one-third of patients with cancer. It has been associated with a high hospital mortality rate in patients with advanced cancer.
-
Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia (SAB) is a multi-system disease associated with a 20-25% mortality in the UK setting. Many patients with SAB are admitted acutely unwell and are treated by the general physician. This review summarises the key management steps that a general physician needs to be aware of when treating patients with SAB. Successful management relies on appropriate empirical and definitive antimicrobial therapy, effective source control, accurate risk stratification and timely identification of metastatic foci of infection, as well as exclusion of infective endocarditis, which can be present in up to 10% of patients with SAB.