Hospital Medicine Alert – July 1, 2009

July 1, 2009

• Chlorhexidine-Impregnated Sponges Reduce Catheter-related Infections

  In a randomized, multicenter trial, chlorhexidine-impregnated sponges used in the dressing of intravascular catheters reduced catheter-related infections by 60%. Increasing the interval of catheter-related dressing changes from 3 to 7 days did not increase the rate of infection.

  Read more

• Intensive Insulin Therapy: A Bit More Sugar May Be Nicer

  This large multicenter, randomized, controlled parallel-group trial found that intensive glucose management, compared to conventional (target glucose 81-108 mg/dL vs. ≤ 180 mg/dL), increases 90-day mortality in both medical and surgical ICU patients.

  Read more

• Syncope and Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy

  Syncope is commonly accepted to be a danger sign in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). In this paper, Spirito et al report data from a registry of 1,511 patients with HCM who have been followed longitudinally at four institutions.

  Read more

• Coronary CT Angiography to Rule Out ACS in the ED

  Patients presenting to the emergency department (ED) with acute chest pain are a significant portion of our health care budget.

  Read more

• Statins May Prevent Thromboembolism

  Observational studies have suggested statins may not only reduce arterial cardiovascular events but also venous thromboembolism.

  Read more