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A recent series of stunning lapses and oversights in federal research labs working with deadly pathogens and potential bioterror agents has heightened calls for a moratorium on such research until biosafety and security can be assured.
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Percutaneous gastrostomy (PEG) and jejunostomy (J) tubes are utilized in hospital practice for medical or surgical patients in whom oral nutrition is either inadequate to meet caloric needs or unsafe as a result of structural or functional abnormality.
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Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common sustained cardiac arrhythmia and has been the leading arrhythmic cause for hospitalization. With an increasing trend toward outpatient care of subacute illness, it is possible that the AF hospitalization rate is stable or decreasing despite the aging population.
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This study demonstrated an association between increased discontinuity of physician care in the inpatient setting and increased hospital costs at a tertiary care center.
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Ischemic stroke remains a leading cause of death worldwide, and atrial fibrillation is a major risk factor, increasing the risk of ischemic stroke five-fold in those who have a confirmed diagnosis of atrial fibrillation.
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HIV-infected patients diagnosed with cryptococcal meningitis who received antiretroviral therapy (ART) 5 weeks after starting antifungal therapy had improved survival at 26 weeks compared to similar patients who received ART at 1-2 weeks (45% vs 30%, respectively, P=0.03).
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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved four vaccines against the 2009 H1N1 influenza virus, with the first lots expected to be distributed by mid-October.
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Asked about budget woes and cutbacks widely reported by infection preventionists, the president of the Joint Commission said surveyors are not seeing "any substantial increase in problems due to reduced staffing in these critical programs."
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In anticipation of a possible significant increase in demand for emergency services due to H1N1 influenza resurgence this fall many hospitals have expressed significant concerns about compliance with "patient dumping" laws, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services reports.
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An Institute of Medicine (IOM) panel recently recommended that fit-tested N95 respirators rather than surgical masks be worn by health care workers treating H1N1 pandemic influenza A patients.
