OBJECTIVES To determine whether emergency physicians (EPs) who have skills in the other applications of ultrasound can apply these in appendicitis diagnosis. METHODS EPs did not have focused training in bedside ultrasound for appendicitis. We identified patients receiving an ED bedside ultrasound evaluation for appendicitis from our ultrasound log. Criterion reference was radiology ultrasound...

BACKGROUND Treatment of stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) with long-acting bronchodilator (LABD) medications is recommended by the 2014 Global initiative for chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) guidelines. The primary objective of this study was to examine LABD prescription fills after a COPD-related hospitalization. METHODS This retrospective observational study used cl...

BACKGROUND The risk of recurrence after an initial ischemic stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA) may be impacted by undiagnosed atrial fibrillation (AF). We therefore assessed the impact of AF diagnosis and timing on stroke/TIA recurrence rates in a large real-world sample of patients. METHODS AND RESULTS Using commercial claims data (Truven Health Analytics MarketScan), we performed a r...

BACKGROUND Current guidelines recommend epinephrine every 3-5min during cardiopulmonary resuscitation. For adults with in-hospital cardiac arrest (IHCA), longer dosing intervals are associated with improved survival to discharge. This study investigates whether longer epinephrine dosing intervals were associated with improved survival to discharge during pediatric IHCA. METHODS Retrospective ...

OBJECTIVES : Pelvic reconstruction after tumor resection is challenging. METHODS A retrospective study had been preformed to compare the outcomes among patients who received pelvic reconstructive surgery with allogeneic bone graft after en bloc resection of pelvic tumors and patients who received en bloc resection only. RESULTS Patients without reconstruction had significantly lower functio...

Histopathology tissue archives can be an important source of specimens for retrospective studies, as these include samples covering a large number of diseases. In veterinary medicine, archives also contain samples from a large variety of species and may represent naturally-occurring models of human disease. The formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissues comprising these archives are rich ...

BACKGROUND Supracondylar fractures are common in children and are associated with significant morbidity. The purpose of our study was to assess and compare the clinical and radiological outcome of management of supracondylar fractures by both wire configurations, along with identifying factors that predispose to complications. MATERIALS & METHODS We retrospectively reviewed all paediatric cas...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Stroke-associated immunosuppression is an increasingly recognized factor triggering infections and thus potentially influencing outcome after stroke. Specifically, lymphocytopenia after intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) has only been addressed in small-sized retrospective studies of mixed intracranial bleedings. This cohort study investigated the natural course of lymphocyto...

OBJECTIVES To examine potential sensitive periods for activity participation across adulthood to reduce cognitive decline and to determine whether associations persist after accounting for the lifetime stability of cognitive ability. METHOD The Lothian Birth Cohort 1921 is a longitudinal study of cognitive aging. Participants were born in 1921 and most completed a mental ability test at the a...

BACKGROUND In 2009 two randomised cluster trials took place to assess the introduction of the Italian Version of the Liverpool Care Pathway in hospitals and hospices. Before and after data were gathered. The primary aim of this study is to evaluate the feasibility of using a combination of assessment methods aimed at different proxy respondents to create a means of measuring quality of care at ...