An End-of-Life Care Task Force discusses how to better integrate palliative with standard care in patients at all stages of chronic and advanced respiratory tract illnesses or critical disease. Medscape Medical News
While bedside blood glucose monitoring using test strips on capillary blood from critically ill patients is convenient, approximately 15% of readings conflict with laboratory reference values, according to results of a study published in the April issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings. Glucose strip measurements on whole blood are more accurate. Reuters Health Information
This multicenter industry-independent registry was designed with the aim of resolving many of the outstanding issues regarding the magnitude of DES thrombosis in real-world cardiology practice. Journal of the American College of Cardiology
When the Office of Human Research Protections froze an ICU checklist study, how did the Society of Hospital Medicine challenge this ban to protect the state of quality improvement research? The Hospitalist
Pulmonary pressure elevation is common during severe acute chest syndrome in patients with sickle cell disease and is associated with a higher risk of death, French researchers say. Reuters Health Information
Abuse, Addiction, and Pain Relief: Time for Change. Drs Herbert D. Kleber, Rollin M. Gallagher, and Eugene R. Viscusi review existing roadblocks and propose strategies for a multidisciplinary approach in preventing and treating chronic pain.
Random protein-creatinine ratio cannot rule out mild preeclampsia; however, this test can be used for rapid diagnosis of severe preeclampsia. The Medscape Journal of Medicine
A 27-year-old man presents with progressive dyspnea following an initial scuba-diving training session. Approximately 1 hour into the dive, he began to feel mild chest tightness directly under his breastbone; this progressed to difficulty breathing with a frequent, nonproductive cough over the following 8 hours. The patient had accidentally held his breath as he ascended from a depth of approximately 12 ft to a depth of 10 ft in a swimming pool. What is the cause of this patient’s dyspnea? eMedicine Case Presentations
