Hospital Medicine: Archives

SUMMARY AND COMMENT

Levalbuterol Is No Better Than Racemic Albuterol for Severe Acute Asthma

• October 7, 2009
• Cornelius W. Van Niel, MD
• Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine

For continuous bronchodilator therapy, racemic albuterol and levalbuterol achieve similar outcomes.

• Reviewing:
• Andrews T et al., J Pediatr 2009 Aug; 155:205.e1 Kercsmar CM and McDowell KM., J Pediatr 2009 Aug; 155:162

SUMMARY AND COMMENT

Blood Cultures — Still Useful in Neutropenic Fever

• October 7, 2009
• Thomas Glück, MD
• Infectious Diseases

Nine percent of blood cultures from patients with high-risk neutropenic fever grew pathogens; in half of such episodes, the culture results prompted treatment modification.

• Reviewing:
• Hummel M et al., Scand J Infect Dis 2009 ; 41:650

SUMMARY AND COMMENT

CAP Treatment Recommendations: Guided in the Right Direction

• October 7, 2009
• Larry M. Baddour, MD
• Infectious Diseases

Results of two large cohort studies indicate that adherence to guidelines for treating community-acquired pneumonia is a good thing.

• Reviewing:
• Arnold FW et al., Arch Intern Med 2009 Sep 14; 169:1515 McCabe C et al., Arch Intern Med 2009 Sep 14; 169:1525 Sharpe BA., Arch Intern Med 2009 Sep 14; 169:1462

SUMMARY AND COMMENT

Pneumonia Severity and Bacterial LoadFree

• October 7, 2009
• Thomas Glück, MD
• Infectious Diseases

In patients with community-acquired pneumococcal pneumonia, high bacterial load at admission was associated with need for mechanical ventilation, development of shock, and in-hospital death.

• Reviewing:
• Rello J et al., Chest 2009 Sep; 136:832

SUMMARY AND COMMENT

Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillators After MI: Keep the Brakes On

• October 7, 2009
• Mark S. Link, MD
• Cardiology

Results of a randomized trial confirm that early ICD implantation fails to improve survival.

• Reviewing:
• Steinbeck G et al., N Engl J Med 2009 Oct 8; 361:1427 Garber AM and Hlatky MA., N Engl J Med 2009 Oct 8; 361:1498

SUMMARY AND COMMENT

A New Factor Xa Inhibitor Prepares for Its Close-Up

• October 7, 2009
• Beat J. Meyer, MD
• Cardiology

Otamixaban shows promise in patients with ACS, but do we really need another intravenous anticoagulant?

• Reviewing:
• Sabatine MS et al., Lancet 2009 Sep 5; 374:787 Eikelboom JW and Weitz JI., Lancet 2009 Sep 5; 374:762

SUMMARY AND COMMENT

Palliative Care for Cancer PatientsFree

• October 6, 2009
• William J. Gradishar, MD
• Oncology and Hematology

Interventions improved quality of life and mood.

• Reviewing:
• Bakitas M et al., JAMA 2009 Aug 19; 302:741

SUMMARY AND COMMENT

Syncope While Driving: Risk for Recurrence

• October 6, 2009
• Kirsten E. Fleischmann, MD, MPH
• General Medicine

Recurrent syncope occurred in about 20% of >3500 patients but was not more common during driving than at other times.

• Reviewing:
• Sorajja D et al., Circulation 2009 Sep 15; 120:928

SUMMARY AND COMMENT

Expanding the Window for Acute Stroke Treatment

• October 6, 2009
• James S. McKinney, MD
• Neurology

New recommendations from the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association on using t-PA between 3 and 4.5 hours after stroke onset

• Reviewing:
• del Zoppo GJ et al., Stroke 2009 Aug; 40:2945

SUMMARY AND COMMENT

Trends in Upper Gastrointestinal Bleeding

• October 2, 2009
• David J. Bjorkman, MD, MSPH (HSA), SM (Epid.)
• Gastroenterology

During a 25-year period at an Italian hospital, the incidence of upper GI bleeding declined, as did associated mortality.

• Reviewing:
• Loperfido S et al., Gastrointest Endosc 2009 Aug; 70:212