News
Inpatient Navigators Reduce Length of Stay without Increasing Readmissions
December 1, 2015
Clinical question: Does a patient navigator (PN) who facilitates communication between patients and providers impact hospital length of stay (LOS) and readmissions? Background: Increasing complexity of hospitalization challenges the safety of care transitions.
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News
Dexamethasone Potential Therapy for Asthma Exacerbations in Pediatric Inpatients
December 1, 2015
Clinical question: In children hospitalized in a non-ICU setting with asthma exacerbation, how effective is dexamethasone compared to prednisone/prednisolone? Background: Asthma is the second most common reason for hospital admission in childhood.1 National guidelines recommend treatment with sys
News
What Are the Strategies for Secondary Stroke Prevention after Transient Ischemic Attack?
December 1, 2015
Case Mr. G is an 80-year-old man with a pacemaker, peripheral artery disease, atrial fibrillation (AF) on warfarin, and tachy-brady syndrome. He presented after experiencing episodes in which he was unable to speak and had weakness on his right side.
News
Steroids Beneficial as Adjunctive Treatment for Community-Acquired Pneumonia
November 30, 2015
Clinical question: Should steroids be used as adjunctive therapy for patients with community-acquired pneumonia? Bottom line: Moderate-quality to high-quality evidence suggests that steroids, when added to antibiotics and usual care, can improve outcomes in the treatment of community-acquired pne
News
Functional Outcomes Better With Endovascular Thrombectomy for Acute Ischemic Stroke
November 30, 2015
Clinical question: Does endovascular thrombectomy improve clinical outcomes in patients presenting with acute ischemic stroke? Bottom line: High-quality evidence shows that endovascular therapy using mechanical thrombectomy for the treatment of acute ischemic stroke leads to improved functional o
News
Guide Helps Hospitalists Choose Most Appropriate Catheter for Patients
November 30, 2015
The Michigan Appropriateness Guide for Intravenous Catheters (MAGIC) is a new resource designed to help clinicians select the safest and most appropriate peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC) for individual patients. “How do you decide which catheter is best for your patient?
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News
Institute of Medicine Report Examines Medical Misdiagnoses
November 30, 2015
In the latest report in its series on quality and patient safety in healthcare, the Institute of Medicine addresses the challenge of errors in medical diagnoses. Authors of the IOM’s “Improving Diagnosis in Health Care” report cite problems in communication and limitations in electronic health re
News
Quality Improvement Initiative Targets Sepsis
November 30, 2015
A quality improvement (QI) initiative at University Hospital in Salt Lake City aims to save lives and cut hospital costs by reducing inpatient sepsis mortality. Program co-leaders, hospitalists Devin Horton, MD, and Kencee Graves, MD, of University Hospital, launched the initiative as a pilot pro
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Opinion
Early Mobility Program
November 30, 2015
“I didn’t get out of bed for 10 days” —Anonymous patient admitted to a skilled nursing facility post-hospitalization for a COPD exacerbation Readmission penalties, “Medicare spending per beneficiary” under value-based purchasing, and the move to accountable care are propelling hospitalists to do
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News
Thombosis Management Demands Balanced Approach
November 30, 2015
[caption id="attachment_12180" align="alignright" width="295"] Image Credit: SHUTTERSTOCK.COM[/caption] The delicate balance involved in providing hospitalized patients with needed anticoagulant, anti-platelet, and thrombolytic therapies for stroke and possible cardiac complications, while minimi
