Discordance of physician clinical judgment vs. pneumonia severity index (PSI) score to admit patients with low risk community-acquired pneumonia: a prospective multicenter study.

BACKGROUND: The relationship between clinical judgment and the pneumonia severity index (PSI) score in deciding the site of care for patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) has not been well investigated. The objective of the study was to determine the clinical factors that influence decision-making to hospitalize low-risk patients (PSI ≤2) with CAP. METHODS: An observational, prospective, multicenter study of consecutive CAP patients was performed at five hospitals in Spain. Patients admitted with CAP and a PSI ≤2 were identified. Admitting physicians completed a patient-specific survey to identify the clinical factors influencing the decision to admit a patient. The reason for admission was categorized into 1 of 6 categories. We also assessed whether the reason for admission was associated with poorer clinical outcomes [intensive care unit (ICU) admission, 30-day mortality or readmission]. RESULTS: One hundred and fifty-five hospitalized patients were enrolled. Two or more reasons for admission were seen in 94 patients (60.6%), including abnormal clinical test results (60%), signs of clinical deterioration (43.2%), comorbid conditions (28.4%), psychosocial factors (28.4%), suspected H1N1 pneumonia (20.6%), and recent visit to the emergency department (ED) in the past 2 weeks (7.7%). Signs of clinical deterioration and abnormal clinical test results were associated with poorer clinical outcomes (P<0.005). CONCLUSIONS: Low-risk patients with CAP and a PSI ≤2 are admitted to the hospital for multiple reasons. Abnormal clinical test results and signs of clinical deterioration are two specific reasons for admission that are associated with poorer clinical outcomes in low risk CAP patients.

Relationship Between Severity Classification of Acute Exacerbation of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and Clinical Outcomes in Hospitalized Patients.

BACKGROUND: Limited data are available regarding the impact of the potential validation of the Canadian Thoracic Society (CTS) guidelines recommendations in classifying patients with an acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD) in simple and complex. The aim of the present study was to assess the CTS recommendations regarding risk stratification on clinical outcomes among patients hospitalized with an AECOPD. METHODS: We developed a retrospective cohort study of patients admitted to one tertiary hospital with a diagnosis of AECOPD. The main clinical outcome was the percentage of treatment failure. Secondary outcomes were 30-day, 90-day, and 1-year readmission and mortality rate, length of stay in hospital, intensive care unit (ICU) admission rate, time to readmission, and time to death. Multivariate analyses were performed using 1-year mortality rate as the dependent measures. RESULTS: One hundred forty-three patients composed the final study population, most of them (106 [74.1%)] classified as complex acute exacerbation (C-AE) of COPD. C-AE patients had similar rate of treatment failure compared with simple acute exacerbation (S-AE) of COPD (31.1% vs. 27%; p = 0.63). There were no differences regarding the length of stay in hospital, ICU admission rate, and 30-day, 90-day, and 1-year readmission rate. C-AE patients had faster declined measures on time to death (691.6 ± 430 days vs. 998.1 ± 355 days; p = 0.02). In the multivariate analysis, after adjusting for comorbidity, lung function and previous treatment, C-AE patients had a significant higher mortality at one year (Odds Ratio [OR] = 4.9 (Confidence Interval [CI] 95%: 1.16-21); p = 0.031). CONCLUSIONS: In hospitalized patients with an AECOPD, CTS classification, according to the presence of risk factors, was not associated with worse short-term clinical outcomes although it is related with long-term mortality.

Púrpura perifolicular: signo clásico de escorbuto / Perifollicular purpura: Classical sign of scurvy

No disponible

"Ojo" a los broncodilatadores en nebulización / Beware of Nebulized Bronchodilators

No disponible

Community-acquired pneumonia team decreases length of stay in hospitalized, low-risk patients with pneumonia.

BACKGROUND: Team-focused intervention to improve the care of low-risk patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is a matter of controversy. Our aim was to determine if a community-acquired pneumonia team (CAPT) would shorten hospital length of stay (LOS) and improve health care utilization in low-risk patients with CAP compared with management by a general pulmonary team (GPT). METHODS: We performed a prospective cohort study of hospitalized, low-risk patients with CAP (Pneumonia Severity Index [PSI] score class I or II) at a single tertiary hospital from June 2007 to June 2008. Study patients were stratified to management by the CAPT treating group (n = 35), following the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) and American Thoracic Society (ATS) CAP guideline recommendations, or to management by the GPT (n = 30) following the standard of care. Primary outcome measure for comparison of the efficacy of the 2 different team-focused interventions was hospital LOS for patients with CAP. Secondary study outcome measures included patient 30- and 90-day all-cause readmission rate, rate of mortality at 30 and 90 days, antibiotic-treatment duration, time to switch patient from intravenous (IV) to oral antibiotic treatment, and time to achieve clinical stability for patients. RESULTS: Hospitalized, low-risk patients with CAP, who were assisted by a CAPT were more likely to have a shorter hospital stay (9 days less; P < 0.001), shorter time to switch from IV to oral antibiotic therapy (8 days less; P <0.001), and total shorter duration of antibiotic treatment (6 days less; P <0.001), when compared with low-risk patients with CAP who were assisted by a GPT. In addition, for both groups of assisted patients, there were no differences in the time to achieve clinical stability, use of guideline-concordant antibiotic therapy, rate of mortality, or rate of readmissions at 30 and 90 days. CONCLUSIONS: Management by a dedicated CAPT reduced patient hospital LOS, time to switch from IV to oral antibiotic therapy, and duration of antibiotic treatment, without causing adverse events, compared with standard of care, in low-risk patients with CAP.

Hemoperitoneum due to spontaneous rupture of ovarian adenocarcinoma.

We report the case of a 65-year-old woman who was treated with low-molecular-weight heparin and suffered spontaneous rupture of an ovarian cystadenocarcinoma. We present the computed tomography findings and make a review of the literature. Spontaneous hemoperitoneum is an infrequent complication of ovarian neoplasms and, to the best of our knowledge, this is the first-described case report of peritoneal bleeding secondary to a cystadenocarcinoma in the recent English literature.