As this issue went to press, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a health advisory notice to public health officials and clinicians on recognizing, managing, and reporting chikungunya virus infections in travelers returning from the Caribbean.
In 1818, James Blundell performed the first successful human blood transfusion in a woman with postpartum hemorrhage. Nearly 200 years later, about 15 million red blood cell (RBC) units are transfused annually in the United States. Many of these transfusions occur in the intensive care unit (ICU), where up to 30-50% of patients are transfused. Despite the frequency of RBC transfusions, there is little evidence that transfusions benefit patients.
Modeling was used to estimate the survival benefits of antiretroviral therapy in patients in South Africa initiating antiretroviral therapy in 2004-2011.
Influenza virus infection in severely immunocompromised patients is associated with reduced initial symptoms, but increased risk of severe outcomes. Treatment options with good supportive evidence are limited.
Active, daily communication between infectious disease and critical care practitioners significantly reduced antibiotic overuse without increasing mortality.
Since the first vaccine was introduced in 2006, vaccine-type HPV prevalence among this population of young women has decreased by 56%.
