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Disinfection Caps Reduce CLABSI, BCC in Hematology-Oncology Patients
May 30, 2016
Clinical question: Does the use of disinfection caps on catheter hubs on central venous catheters (CVCs) reduce central-line-associated bloodstream infection (CLABSI) and blood culture contamination (BCC) in hematology-oncology patients? Background: CVCs have facilitated the administration of che
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Isopropyl Alcohol Nasal Inhalation Effective Treatment for ED Nausea
May 30, 2016
Clinical question: Does inhaled isopropyl alcohol alleviate nausea as compared to inhaled saline solution among patients presenting to the ED with a chief complaint of nausea? Background: Nausea and vomiting account for 4.8 million ED visits each year; however, antiemetics have not shown superior
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Public Opinion about Healthcare Reform Becomes More Positive
May 29, 2016
The Affordable Care Act has been law for six years, and during that time, 20 million uninsured nonelderly Americans have been able to acquire health insurance.
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Chronic Kidney Disease Risk with Proton Pump Inhibitors
May 27, 2016
Clinical question: What is the association between proton pump inhibitor (PPI) use and incident chronic kidney disease (CKD)? Background: Medication use may play a potential role in the increasing prevalence of CKD.
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Updated CHEST Guidelines for Antithrombotic Therapy of VTE
May 23, 2016
Clinical question: What are the current recommendations for antithrombotic therapy in various venous thromboembolism (VTE) scenarios? Background: VTE is commonly encountered with a multitude of therapeutic options.
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Tamsulosin Can Be Used as Expulsive Therapy for Some Ureteric Stones
May 23, 2016
Clinical question: Is tamsulosin efficacious as an expulsive therapy for distal ureter stones ≤10 mm in diameter? Background: Ureteric calculi are a common reason for hospital admission, and use of medical expulsive therapy during observation periods for small caliber stones has gained much atten
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Early Follow-up Can Reduce Readmission Rates
May 22, 2016
Heart failure patients who had early follow-up (within seven days of discharge) with general medicine or cardiology providers had a lower risk of being readmitted to the hospital within 30 days, according to a study from Kaiser Permanente published in the journal Medical Care. “We found that foll
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Dr. Hospitalist: Improper, Aggressive Billing Raises Ethical, Legal Concerns
May 21, 2016
Dear Dr. Hospitalist: I am a seasoned hospitalist at a large academic medical center in the Northeast and have recently become more bothered by how our group is being coerced to aggressively bill for our services.
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Prevalence, Characteristics of Physicians Prone to Malpractice Claims
May 20, 2016
Clinical question: Do claim-prone physicians account for a substantial share of all paid malpractice claims? Background: Many studies have compared physicians who have multiple malpractice claims against them with colleagues who have few or no claims against them and have identified systemic diff
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Is Email an Endangered Species?
May 10, 2016
Forty-five years ago, an engineer in Boston sent an electronic message between two computers some 10 feet apart.