Journal of hospital medicine : an official publication of the Society of Hospital Medicine
-
Inpatient falls are common and result in significant patient morbidity. ⋯ Inpatient falls are common despite high-risk patients being identified. After adjusting for age and sex, evidence of trauma and ambulatory status were independent predictors of an injury being found on imaging studies after an inpatient fall.
-
Historically, the milk-alkali syndrome developed as an adverse reaction to the Sippy regimen of milk, cream and alkaline powders as treatment for peptic ulcer disease. The classic description includes hypercalcemia, metabolic alkalosis, and renal failure. Over the past 20 years, milk-alkali syndrome has had a resurgence, as consumption of supplements containing calcium has increased. ⋯ With hydration and cessation of calcium carbonate ingestion, his renal function and serum calcium levels returned to normal. Physicians should have a high index of suspicion for milk-alkali syndrome in patients with hypercalcemia. Milk-alkali syndrome is no longer a merely a historical curiosity; it is currently the third most common cause of hypercalcemia.
-
Hospitalized patients who develop severe sepsis have significant morbidity and mortality. Early goal-directed therapy has been shown to decrease mortality in severe sepsis and septic shock, though a delay in recognizing impending sepsis often precludes this intervention. ⋯ Readily available data can be employed to predict non-ICU patients who develop septic shock several hours prior to ICU admission.