Internal medicine journal
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Internal medicine journal · Feb 2022
Proposed empiric antibiotic therapy for prosthetic joint infections: an analysis of the Prosthetic Joint Infection in Australia and New Zealand, Observational (PIANO) cohort.
Empiric antibiotic therapy in suspected prosthetic joint infection should cover likely pathogens while avoiding overly broad-spectrum antibiotics. We analysed individual patient data from a large prospective cohort study (Prosthetic Joint Infection in Australia and New Zealand, Observational (PIANO)) and found that causative organisms vary with the presentation type, with early post-operative infections more likely to be polymicrobial (41%) compared with late acute infections (10%). We thus propose empirical regimens tailored to the presentation type and presence or absence of sepsis.
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Internal medicine journal · Feb 2022
Prospective Study of Policies and Use of Therapies for COVID-19 Amongst Australian Health Services during 2020.
The COVID-19 pandemic has generated significant debate about how emerging infections can be treated in the absence of evidence-based therapies to combat disease. In particular, the use of off-label therapies outside of a clinical trial setting has been controversial. ⋯ Our results reflect the reactive nature of prescribing of therapies for COVID-19 and highlight the importance of evidence-based guidelines to assist prescribers.
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Internal medicine journal · Feb 2022
Hospitalisation and associated costs of gastrointestinal bleeding from primary prevention aspirin use in South Australia: a retrospective case series analysis.
We assessed hospitalisations for gastrointestinal bleeding directly related to primary prevention aspirin in lower risk patients for a 6-month period in three South Australian hospitals. Those with related underlying pathology or concurrent causative medication were excluded. ⋯ Mean hospital admission cost was $6769 (95% confidence interval $5198-$8340), with projected state and national annual costs of $0.57 and $8.12 million respectively. In light of recent guideline changes, clinicians need to vigorously assess the need for primary prevention aspirin.
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Internal medicine journal · Feb 2022
Automated information extraction from free-text medical documents for stroke key performance indicators: a pilot study.
Automated information extraction might be able to assist with the collection of stroke key performance indicators (KPI). The feasibility of using natural language processing for classification-based KPI and datetime field extraction was assessed. ⋯ The datetime field extraction method was successful in 29 of 43 (67.4%) cases. Further studies are indicated.