Articles related to All Specialties

Assaults against nurses, unfortunately, is nothing new. But the frequency of the violence is increasing.

This individual passed away after 12 days of self-imposed starvation and refusal of a feeding tube. His loved ones were “beyond scarred” by his experience. Is this death with dignity? How can caregivers best serve their patients in such situations?

This week’s edition of MedPage Today’s Investigative Roundup highlights some of the best investigative reporting on healthcare, including the lifechanging decision by Noble Health in Missouri to suspend all services and furlough 181 employees from Audrain Community Hospital and nearby Callaway Community Hospital.

In reverse order of popularity: 10. PECARN Pediatric Head Injury/Trauma Algorithm9. GAD-7 (General Anxiety Disorder-7)8. Ideal Body Weight and Adjusted Body Weight7. Steroid Conversion Calculator6. Calcium Correction for Hypoalbuminemia5. MELD Score (Model For End-Stage Liver Disease) (12 and older)4. Mean Arterial Pressure (MAP)3. CHA₂DS₂-VASc Score for Atrial Fibrillation Stroke Risk2. PHQ-9 (Patient Health Questionnaire-9)1. Creatinine Clearance (Cockcroft-Gault Equation)

The new guidelines have drawn criticism and many or most hospitals are sticking to state guidelines, which generally mandate masking. Megan Ranney, MD, MPH, of Brown University tweeted that CDC’s logic “escapes me,” as it pertains to society’s “most health-vulnerable” people in a setting with a higher-than-average risk of COVID positivity.

This case-control study carried out at six hospitals between Oct 2021 and July 2022 found that boosters yielded a 75% reduction in COVID hospitalization risk in the first 50 days post-booster, declining to 25% reduction in hospitalization risk at over 150 days. Other factors associated with an increased odds of hospitalization for COVID-19 included age of 70 years or older, male sex, cognitive disease, COPD, diabetes, immunodeficiency, obesity, rheumatologic disease, transplant, and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccination.