January 12, 2022
How COVID-19 changed end-of-life care
Hospitalists have had to find new strategies during the pandemic in order to provide optimal care, including company and comfort, to dying inpatients and their families.
Hypercalcemia after silicone injections
A patient presented with nausea, loss of appetite, and weight loss of approximately 20 pounds. Lab tests revealed hypercalcemia.
NIH guidelines on anticoagulation in COVID-19; research on statin use, omicron variant
The NIH updated its guidelines to address anticoagulation in COVID-19 inpatients, treatment with atorvastatin did not appear to improve outcomes in the ICU, and several studies looked at characteristics of omicron.
Vitamin C monotherapy did not reduce mortality in patients with septic shock
A double-blind, randomized controlled trial of 124 ICU patients with septic shock found that while 28-day mortality was lower in those who received IV vitamin C versus placebo, the absolute risk reduction did not reach statistical significance.
Clinical decision support tool reduced nighttime vital checks but not delirium
The tool used real-time patient data and a trained prediction algorithm to notify the hospitalist if the patient had a high likelihood of nighttime vital sign measurements within reference ranges.
New antipsychotic prescriptions in hospitalized heart failure patients often continued after discharge to SNF
A retrospective cohort study of mostly male veterans found that 10.8% received a new antipsychotic prescription during index hospitalization for heart failure, 21.5% of which were continued after discharge to a skilled nursing facility (SNF).