On the threshold
Although restricting blood transfusions to patients with lower hemoglobin thresholds has become the rule, there are some important exceptions.
Newman's Notions | February 19, 2025 | FREE
Most ACP Hospitalist content is available exclusively to ACP Members. This article is free to the public.
Hammer and nails
Will AI be for hospitalists what the steam drill was for John Henry?
SEP-1 bundle hasn't been proven to reduce mortality, review finds
A review found that all relevant studies examining CMS's Severe Sepsis and Septic Shock Management Bundle (SEP-1) were observational with some risk of bias and that the majority did not show a positive effect on mortality.
Rise in white blood cell count can be expected 48 hours after steroid dose, study finds
Inpatients who were treated with steroids and did not have an infection had a mean increase in their white blood cell count of 2.4×109 cells/L, peaking at 48 hours. With high-dose steroids, the mean increase was 4.84×109 cells/L, according to the single-center retrospective study.
Early stroke complications associated with poor outcomes after discharge
Patients who had recurrent stroke, fever, pneumonia, depression, urinary tract infection, or delirium after a first mild to moderate ischemic stroke were more likely to die or have functional impairment at three months, a German study found.
Pleural effusion may be indicator of mortality risk in certain conditions
U.S. veterans hospitalized with cancer, congestive heart failure, or pneumonia were more likely to die if they had a clinically significant pleural effusion, a retrospective study found.
Take a quiz about the Feb. 12 issue!
Every week, ACP Hospitalist posts a question about the previous week's issue. See how well you remember what you've read compared to other readers.
A phone call is not enough
A recent review found that postdischarge contacts didn't budge readmissions. The lead author explains what that means for practice and research.
Nonopioid approved for moderate to severe pain
The medication, suzetrigine, is a first-in-class drug, targeting a pain-signaling pathway involving sodium channels in the peripheral nervous system, and was tested on patients with pain following abdominoplasty and bunionectomy.
Thrombectomy fails to provide benefit in stroke with medium, distal occlusions
Patients with ischemic stroke due to medium- or distal-vessel occlusion had similar functional outcomes and mortality with endovascular thrombectomy or usual medical therapy, two new randomized trials found.
U.S. has higher CV hospitalization rate of older adults than Denmark
The cross-sectional comparison of the two high-income countries found that rates of cardiovascular (CV) hospitalizations were higher among low-income adults than among higher-income adults in both places, but much more dramatically so in the U.S. than in Denmark.
Hospitalists lack knowledge about handling dysphagia in dementia, survey finds
When hospitalists were asked whether dysphagia diets improve quality of life for patients with dementia, a third agreed, a third disagreed, and a third had no opinion. The surveyed clinicians also did not routinely discuss goals of care for patients with dysphagia and dementia.
Genotyping may help predict afib risk after stroke
Adding polygenic risk scores for atrial fibrillation to existing clinical risk factors improved prediction of afib risk, a study of U.S. stroke survivors found.
Rethinking AMA
Certain steps can help achieve a successful outcome when a patient wants to leave the hospital.
Success Story | February 5, 2025 | FREE
Most ACP Hospitalist content is available exclusively to ACP Members. This article is free to the public.
Lending an ear
Geriatric patients were eager to use assistive listening devices during hospitalization.
Clinical Newsletters
An electronic newsletter that covers the latest news in internal medicine, delivered directly to your inbox each Tuesday.
An electronic newsletter that focuses on news specific to diabetes, delivered directly to your inbox once per month.
An electronic newsletter that focuses on news specific to gastroenterology and hepatology, delivered directly to your inbox once per month.