Stethoscopes have always been an obvious suspect in the transmission of infections to patients by health care professionals. They’re carried room to room, come in contact with each patient, and are almost never disinfected between patient contacts. Testing has shown just what one would expect: stethoscopes are often contaminated with bacteria. One of the latest [… read more]
Most families have never suffered through a loved one experiencing prolonged critical illness and respiratory failure (defined as ventilator dependence for weeks, usually with a tracheostomy). But each year, more do. An estimated 400,000 people currently live with chronic critical illness in long-term acute care hospitals (LTACHs) and other facilities — a population that has [… read more]
by Salynn Boyles, Contributing Writer, MedPage Today Treatment with antibiotics during hospitalization for asthma exacerbation was associated with longer hospital stays and higher hospital costs in a retrospective cohort study of nearly 20,000 adult patients. Mihaela Stefan, MD, PhD, of the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Springfield, and colleagues, found that despite guidelines recommending against routine [… read more]
The U.S. FDA approved the first generic version of blockbuster drug Advair (fluticasone/salmeterol) for asthma maintenance treatment in patients aged 4 and up, and also for maintenance treatment and prevention of exacerbations in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Mylan will make the generic alternative to fluticasone/salmeterol, which will be called Wixela Inhub and come in [… read more]
Jon-Emile S. Kenny MD [@heart_lung] “The truth is balance, but the opposite of truth, which is unbalance, may not be a lie.” -Susan Sontag Case A 49 year old man presents with two days of hemoptysis, right-sided pleuritic chest pain and a few hours of ‘confusion’ according to his teammate in a pick-up hockey league. One [… read more]
Theophylline is derived from methylxanthine, naturally present in tea and cocoa beans. Initially used medically in 1895 as a diuretic, theophylline was one of the first drugs for asthma and COPD/emphysema (beginning in 1922), after its bronchodilation effects were discovered. Theophylline also has cardiac and central nervous system stimulant side effects and can produce tachyarrhythmias [… read more]
Jon-Emile S. Kenny MD [@heart_lung] “Nolite te bastardes carborundorum” -Margaret Atwood Case An 86 year old woman presents with two days of decreased intake by mouth and 3 days of melena and vomiting. She is followed closely by her internist and cardiologist for hypertension, severe mitral regurgitation, pulmonary venous hypertension and right ventricular dysfunction with co-morbid [… read more]
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved baloxavir marboxil, an oral tablet to be marketed as Xofluza, for treatment of early acute uncomplicated influenza in adolescents and adults. FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said in a news release, This is the first new antiviral flu treatment with a novel mechanism of action approved by the FDA [… read more]
After a review of reported adverse events, the U.S. FDA is warning physicians that fluoroquinolone antibiotics may increase the occurrence of aortic dissections, resulting in aortic rupture and death. FDA used unusually direct language in advising, “Fluoroquinolones should not be used in patients at increased risk unless there are no other treatment options available.” Patients [… read more]
Pressing fingers against the cricoid cartilage (the Sellick maneuver) during rapid sequence intubation compresses the esophagus beneath the firmer trachea. It has long been espoused that this prevents aspiration (emesis or reflux of gastric contents into the supraglottic space and airway, obscuring the operator’s view and harming the patient). The Sellick maneuver is believed to [… read more]
Tennessee law enforcement agents announced they had arrested and charged a nurse with reckless homicide and patient abuse for a fatal medication error she allegedly committed while working at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in December 2017. The charges allege that the nurse intended to provide an ordered dose of midazolam (Versed) to an anxious patient [… read more]
A large proportion of patients who remain in ICUs for more than a few days develop hospital-acquired infections, including bloodstream infections. Indwelling urinary or venous catheters, gut translocation, aspiration and impaired host defenses can all be causative. Bloodstream infection incidence has been reduced over time, but remains persistently ineradicable. One enticing method of prevention has been [… read more]
by John Gever, Managing Editor, MedPage Today WASHINGTON — Primatene Mist, the over-the-counter epinephrine inhaler for quick asthma relief, can go back on the market in a reformulated version, the FDA said. Now using a hydrofluoroalkane (HFA) propellant in place of the banned chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) used in the original Primatene product (and most other asthma inhalers), the new [… read more]
Jon-Emile S. Kenny MD [@heart_lung] Why is blood pressure measured by units of length [i.e. millimeters of mercury – mmHg]? What decides systolic and diastolic pressure? What are the determinants of tissue perfusion and what are the clinical implications of this physiology? Can we deceive ourselves into thinking a particular mean arterial pressure [MAP] is [… read more]
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved revefenacin inhalation solution to be marketed as Yupelri for ongoing treatment of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Yupelri will be marketed by Theravance Biopharma. Revefenacin is the first once-daily nebulized bronchodilator approved for COPD in the U.S., according to its manufacturer. Revefenacin is a long-acting muscarinic antagonist. In randomized trials, 3 [… read more]
Very little evidence guides nutrition in critical illness. Because of critically ill patients’ catabolic state, and probably influenced by the normalization fallacy, nutrition practices often include efforts to provide daily calories in the 1,800 – 2,000 range. However, anorexia may be adaptive during illness (since it is common to multiple disease states); greater enterally infused [… read more]
By Nicholas Mark, MD During the 1940s, many Melanesian cultures were profoundly altered as the Second World War was waged in the Pacific around them. Western soldiers constructed airstrips out of the jungles and the natives witnessed vast wealth in the form of manufactured goods literally rain down from the skies on parachutes or carried [… read more]
Jon-Emile S. Kenny MD [@heart_lung] “I’m burnin’ through the sky, yeah Two hundred degrees, That’s why they call me Mister Fahrenheit” -Freddie Mercury Part 1 gave a brief overview of the mechanisms of atrial fibrillation [AF] as well as pertinent features of rate controlling agents and anticoagulation. In this brief second part, nuanced features of ventricular [… read more]
Jon-Emile S. Kenny MD [@heart_lung] with illustrations by Carla M Canepa MD [@_carlemd_] “The habit of writing for my eye is good practice. It loosens the ligaments.” ― Virginia Woolf Case A 28 year old woman with known severe mitral stenosis from rheumatic heart disease presents with acute onset shortness of breath. Her acute dyspnea began while [… read more]
by Salynn Boyles, Contributing Writer, MedPage Today Vitamin D supplements reduced moderate to severe COPD exacerbations in patients with low circulating levels of its 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25-OH-D) metabolite at baseline, a meta-analysis indicated. But no such effect was seen for patients with at least normal 25-OH-D levels (at least 25 nmol/L) prior to supplementation, according to Adrian [… read more]
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