BACKGROUND The goal of antibiotic prophylaxis is not to sterilize the operative field, but to minimize the perioperative bacterial load to the level that will not result in clinical infection. Patient-related risk factors, such as poor nutritional status, smoking, diabetes and impaired immune system, and nature of the surgery should be reviewed when considering prophylactic use of antibiotics. ...

One of the most common complications involved in treating patients with hematologic cancer is infection. In many cases there are multiple factors that predispose these patients to infections such as neutropenia induced by therapy or bone marrow involvement, hypogammaglobulinemia, T-cell dysfunction, and mucosal damage. In addition, newer therapies have changed the spectrum of infection that is ...

Gastrointestinal complications frequently occur in patients admitted to the intensive care unit. Of these, ulceration and bleeding related to stress-related mucosal disease (SRMD) can lengthen hospitalization and increase mortality. The purpose of this review is to discuss the many risk factors and underlying illnesses that have a role in the pathophysiology of SRMD and evaluate the evidence pe...

OBJECTIVE To identify the level of current intensivist's knowledge regarding risk assessment and intensive care unit (ICU) clinical practice pertaining to stress-related mucosal bleeding, including pharmacologic approaches for stress ulcer prevention. DESIGN A nationwide survey of critical care physicians. STUDY POPULATION Two thousand random physician members of the Society of Critical Car...

Critically ill patients are at risk for stress ulcers in the upper digestive tract. Various factors have been associated with this condition. Patients who critically of bleeding due to related mucosal disease (SRMD). Upper gastrointestinal tract problems usually occur as a result severe physiological stress. may develop gastric erosion and which can be fatal. Routine pharmacological use ulcer p...

BACKGROUND The gut-brain axis plays a potential role in numerous physiological and pathological conditions. Several substances link stomach with central nervous system. In particular, hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenocortical axis, thyrotropinreleasing factor-containing nerve fibers and capsaicin-sensitive nerves are principal mediators of the harmful and protective central nervous system-mediated e...

The risk for invasive fungal infections in patients with acute leukemia is generally low (4%–8%), and the routine use of fungal prophylaxis is not warranted except in specific high-risk groups that should be identified among this population. In a prophylactic study with a new agent, fluconazole or itraconazole oral solution represent good choices for the comparator because they are proven bette...