Performance of Urinalysis Parameters in Predicting Urinary Tract Infection: Does One Size Fit all?

In a multi-hospital cohort study of 3392 patients, positive urinalysis parameters had poor positive predictive value for diagnosing urinary tract infection (UTI). Combined urinalysis parameters (pyuria or nitrite) performed better than pyuria alone for ruling out UTI. However, performance of all urinalysis parameters was poor in older women.

An application of an ecological framework to understand risk factors of PTSD due to prolonged conflict exposure: Israeli and Palestinian adolescents in the line of fire.

OBJECTIVE: Adolescents living in Israel and the Palestinian authority are exposed to political violence. This review examines psychosocial risk factors for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) organized within an ecological framework. METHOD: Relevant articles were identified through PubMed and PsycINFO. Studies measuring risk and/or protective factors for PTSD in the Palestinian and/or Israeli adolescent populations because of conflict exposure from 1990 to present were included. RESULTS: A total of 20 studies met inclusion criteria. Greater violence exposure, poor economic resources, living in rural compared with urban areas, poor family and peer relations, and poor coping skills were associated with PTSD symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: The ecological framework is a useful approach to understanding factors affecting adolescent PTSD. Future research should focus on socioecological levels that have received limited attention. (PsycINFO Database Record

Omacetaxine Mepesuccinate for Chronic Myeloid Leukemia.

Omacetaxine mepesuccinate is approved by the Food and Drug Administration in the United States for the treatment of chronic myeloid leukemia in chronic or accelerated phase resistant to two or more tyrosine kinase inhibitors. This review summarizes the mode of action, pharmacokinetics, efficacy and safety of omacetaxine mepesuccinate. Omacetaxine mepesuccinate has activity in chronic myeloid leukemia, especially in the chronic phase, regardless of the presence of ABL1 kinase domain mutations. Omacetaxine mepesuccinate has distinct but manageable adverse events profile. Omacetaxine mepesuccinate is a treatment option for a subset of patients with refractory chronic myeloid leukemia.