Internal medicine journal
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Internal medicine journal · May 2020
Education to improve vancomycin use: the perspectives of educators and education recipients.
Vancomycin is the primary treatment for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infections. Hospital audits have showed that dosing and therapeutic drug monitoring practices for vancomycin are suboptimal. Limited studies have examined the current educational resources used to support vancomycin use. ⋯ Vancomycin dosing and therapeutic drug monitoring involves multiple health professionals, but current education strategies do not take this into account. Ideal education strategies need to be multimodal and targeted to specific health profession groups.
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Internal medicine journal · May 2020
Prevalence and distribution of functional splenic tissue after splenectomy.
Individuals splenectomised for trauma have lower infection rates than those splenectomised for other conditions. Residual functional splenic tissue (FST) after splenectomy may provide ongoing immunological protection. ⋯ Residual FST is commonly seen in individuals splenectomised for trauma. It can present in varying distributions and of varying volume. The clinical significance is unclear.
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Internal medicine journal · May 2020
Pulmonary embolism: clinical presentation and diagnosis in the oldest old.
The incidence of pulmonary embolism (PE) in the oldest old (persons aged ≥85) is increasing, but there are limited data on its clinical features and diagnosis. We performed a retrospective cohort study of 302 consecutive patients with confirmed PE and compared the oldest old to the young (aged <65) and the younger old (aged 65-84). ⋯ Delayed diagnosis was most common in the oldest old and was associated with increasing age, absence of dyspnoea, presence of cardiorespiratory disease and a higher Charlson Comorbidity index. Better age-specific diagnostic pathways are required in this population.
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Internal medicine journal · May 2020
Selling medical education to international students: time for review.
Over 600 international medical students commence training in Australian medical schools each year. Government funding policies are driving medical schools to recruit more international students. The need to lobby for intern positions for domestic graduates and for international students has placed Australia's medical schools in conflicted positions. It is time for a thorough re-examination of all aspects of medical education in Australia.