A Practice Primer and Update on Anti-Bacterial Resistance.

Antibiotic resistance is driven by inappropriate antibiotic use. Multi-drug resistance is a rising concern in Gram-negative bacteria. Prompt recognition and appropriate antibiotics are needed for improving outcomes.

Validation of a Novel, Rapid Sepsis Diagnostic for Emergency Department Use.

Objectives: To assess the in vitro IntelliSep test, a microfluidic assay that quantifies the state of immune activation by evaluating the biophysical properties of leukocytes, as a rapid diagnostic for sepsis.

Design: Prospective cohort study.

Setting: Five emergency departments (EDs) in Louisiana, Missouri, North Carolina, and Washington.

Impact of a nutrition support therapy on hospital-acquired infections: A value analysis.

Background: Hospital-acquired conditions (HACs) have a direct impact on value, as they decrease quality and increase costs. Numerous interventions have been tried, including nutrition support therapy, with unknown effect on value. Therefore, a value analysis of nutrition support therapy on HACs was performed.

Are We Coping Well with COVID-19?: A Study on Its Psycho-Social Impact on Front-line Healthcare Workers.

Background: Global pandemics have a profound psycho-social impact on health systems and their impact on healthcare workers is under-reported.

Methods: We performed a cross-sectional survey with 13 Likert-scale responses and some additional polar questions pertaining to dressing habits and learning in a university hospital in the midwest United States. Descriptive and analytical statistics were performed.

Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic as Catalyst for Telemedicine Adoption: A Single-Center Experience.

Telemedicine use has increased due to stay-at-home orders during the novel coronavirus 2019 pandemic. We explored ambulatory provider's perception on telemedicine. An anonymized survey was e-mailed to physicians and midlevel providers of our university hospital ambulatory clinics to assess current use, preferences for future use, and satisfaction with televisits.

Technical efficiency, short-term clinical results and safety of a large-bore aspiration catheter in acute pulmonary embolism - A retrospective case study.

Background: Mechanical thrombectomy plays an important role in the management of acute pulmonary embolism (PE), either when rapid clot dissolution is needed or when thrombolytics are contraindicated. We describe our clinical and technical experience with the FlowTriever mechanical thrombectomy device in patients with acute PE.

Materials And Methods: A retrospective analysis was performed on all cases of acute PE treated with the FlowTriever device at a single tertiary care hospital system during the trial period (November 2019-January 2020).

Laboratory Tests for COVID-19: A Review of Peer-Reviewed Publications and Implications for Clinical Use.

Diagnostic tests for the coronavirus infection 2019 (COVID-19) are critical for prompt diagnosis, treatment and isolation to break the cycle of transmission. A positive real-time reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), in conjunction with clinical and epidemiologic data, is the current standard for diagnosis, but several challenges still exist. Serological assays help to understand epidemiology better and to evaluate vaccine responses but they are unreliable for diagnosis in the acute phase of illness or assuming protective immunity.

Ehrlichiosis Presenting as Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis in an Immunocompetent Adult.

Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) is a fatal, immunologic syndrome characterized by dysregulated tissue inflammation. HLH can be either primary or secondary; with the latter typically resulting from an infection. Diagnosis requires five or more of the following: fever, splenomegaly, cytopenia, hypertriglyceridemia, hemophagocytosis via biopsy, low natural killer (NK) cell activity, elevated ferritin and soluble CD25 level (sCD25).

Calciphylaxis: An Analysis of Concomitant Factors, Treatment Effectiveness and Prognosis in 30 Patients.

Background: Calciphylaxis is a rare but severe complication mostly affecting patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) and is associated with high morbidity and mortality. The natural history, concomitant factors, pathogenesis, and treatment for calciphylaxis remain equivocal.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective study on patients diagnosed with calciphylaxis in a tertiary care center between January 1, 2012, and December 31, 2017.

Imported Infections in Rural Mid-West United States - A Report from a Tertiary Care Center.

Background: There is lack of specific data on imported infections in the mid-west United States (U.S.).

Developing a Multi-Disciplinary Team for Infective Endocarditis.

Background: As guidelines do not describe how to develop a multi-disciplinary team(MDT), we provide a model using quality improvement tools to design a MDT for infective endocarditis (IE).

Methods: Primary service, specialty teams and whether they had surgery or not (indications, reasons, outcomes and complications) were recorded for IE patients for January-December 2016. Criteria: age >18years and definite IE per modified Duke criteria.

Ultra-protective mechanical ventilation without extra-corporeal carbon dioxide removal for acute respiratory distress syndrome.

Background: Tidal hyperinflation can still occur with mechanical ventilation using low tidal volume (LVT) (6 mL/kg predicted body weight (PBW)) in acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), despite a well-demonstrated reduction in mortality.

Methods: Retrospective chart review from August 2012 to October 2014. : Age >18years, PaO/FiO<200 with bilateral pulmonary infiltrates, absent heart failure, and ultra-protective mechanical ventilation (UPMV) defined as tidal volume (VT) <6 mL/kg PBW.

Optic neuritis caused by the re-emerging great masquerader.

A 49-year-old Caucasian woman presented with subacute headache and right eye pain associated with scotoma, blurred vision and photophobia. MRI was suggestive of optic neuritis of the right optic nerve and she was treated with steroids. Due to persistent symptoms, a lumbar puncture was performed and cerebrospinal fluid analysis was positive for venereal disease research laboratory and rapid plasma reagin titres.