During the global outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in 2003, treatment was empiric. We report the case history of the index patient in a hospital outbreak of SARS in Hong Kong. The patient recovered after conventional antimicrobial therapy. Further studies are needed to address treatment of SARS, which has high attack and death rates.

BACKGROUND Symptoms associated with urinary tract infection (UTI) are common in women in general practice and represent a significant burden for the National Health Service. There is considerable variation among general practitioners in the management of patients presenting with these symptoms. AIM To identify the most appropriate patient management strategy given current information for non-...

Hydroxocobalamin is a recently approved antidote for the treatment of cyanide poisoning. The case presented involves a young patient administered empiric hydroxocobalamin due to suspected cyanide overdose. Due to the development of acute kidney injury and severe metabolic derangement, emergent hemodialysis was initiated. Unfortunately, hemodialysis was confounded by a recurrent "blood leak" ala...

Combination antibiotic therapy for invasive infections with Gram-negative bacteria is employed in many health care facilities, especially for certain subgroups of patients, including those with neutropenia, those with infections caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa, those with ventilator-associated pneumonia, and the severely ill. An argument can be made for empiric combination therapy, as we are w...

OBJECTIVE To examine the cost-effectiveness of approaches to the diagnosis and treatment of patients with type II (non-insulin-dependent) diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) who have foot infections and suspected osteomyelitis. DESIGN Decision and cost-effectiveness analyses were performed using a Markov model. We examined the prevalence of osteomyelitis, the major complications and efficacies of long-...

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to investigate the epidemiology and antibiotic susceptibility profiles of isolated bacterial organisms in relation to empiric treatment of neutropenic fever over a 15-year period. METHODS All patients with or at risk for febrile neutropenia and treated in the hematology ward of the Antwerp University Hospital during 1994-2008 were prospectively included. Sk...

BACKGROUND Fever and neutropenia (FN) often complicate anticancer treatment and can be caused by potentially fatal infections. Knowledge of pathogen distribution is paramount for optimal patient management. METHODS Microbiologically defined infections (MDI) in pediatric cancer patients presenting with FN by nonmyeloablative chemotherapy enrolled in a prospective multicenter study were analyze...

This study evaluates vancomycin prescribing patterns in a tertiary-care hospital, with high prevalence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, comparing with the guidelines proposed by the Hospital Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee. The study was conducted in a 930-bed tertiary-care hospital, during 40 days (March 10 to April 30, 2003). Data were collected of all patients g...

BACKGROUND The CYP2C19 genotype is a predictor of adverse cardiovascular events in acute coronary syndrome (ACS) patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) treated with clopidogrel. OBJECTIVES We aimed to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of a CYP2C19*2 genotype-guided strategy of antiplatelet therapy in ACS patients undergoing PCI, compared with two 'no testing' strategies (e...