May 24, 2023
Replace diagnostic errors with excellence
Five strategies can help hospitalists achieve diagnostic excellence, a researcher says.
RSV vaccine, OTC naloxone approved
The FDA also updated the prescribing information for immediate-release opioid pain medicines to note that these products should not be used for an extended period, among other recent actions.
Higher risk of false-positive HIV test in those testing positive for COVID-19 infection
Hospitalized patients with positive SARS-CoV-2 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test results were significantly more likely to have a false-positive fourth-generation HIV test than those with negative SARS-CoV-2 PCR test results, a retrospective study found.
Observation has highest utility, lowest cost of options for primary spontaneous pneumothorax
A review comparing strategies for primary spontaneous pneumothorax found that chest tube and aspiration were more likely to result in resolution of the condition without additional intervention, but patients who underwent observation instead had the shortest length of stay.
Early palliative care did not improve quality of life in cancer surgery patients
The trial randomly assigned participants scheduled for intra-abdominal cancer operations to receive either usual care or an intervention including preoperative consultation with palliative care specialists and postoperative inpatient and outpatient palliative care follow-up for 90 days.
Use of CT pulmonary angiography for suspected PE rose from 2015 to 2019
The findings of a retrospective analysis suggest that the development and validation of clinical decision rules for diagnosing pulmonary embolism (PE) didn't affect use of CT pulmonary angiography in European EDs, according to the authors.