Chest
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Medically underserved areas are composed of vulnerable populations with reduced access to ambulatory care services. Our goal was to determine the association between residence in a medically underserved area and severe sepsis incidence and mortality. ⋯ Residence in a medically underserved area is associated with higher incidence and mortality rates of severe sepsis and represents a novel method of access-to-care adjustment. Traditional access-to-care surrogates, however, are poorly associated with sepsis mortality.
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A 43-year-old man was referred to our tertiary sleep center for the initiation of sleep apnea treatment. A prior diagnostic overnight polysomnography (Fig 1) had revealed an apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) of 22/h of sleep. The apneas were predominantly central (central AHI, 18.2/h; obstructive AHI, 3.8/h), more pronounced in the supine position (AHI supine, 36.6/h; AHI nonsupine, 11/h) and during non-rapid eye movement (non-REM) sleep (REM, 15.8/h; non-REM, 23.5/h). ⋯ He was not taking any medication but had noticed a slow decline in general physical performance in the last year, with dyspnea (New York Heart Association class I) after running distances of 1 to 2 km. He had never experienced syncope. His family history was unremarkable.
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Comparative Study
Differences in Health-related Quality of Life Between New Mexican Hispanic and Non-Hispanic White Smokers.
Smoking is associated with impaired health-related quality of life (HRQL) across all populations. Because decline in lung function and risk for COPD are lower in New Mexican Hispanic smokers compared with their non-Hispanic white (NHW) counterparts, the goal of this study was to ascertain whether HRQL differs between these two racial/ethnic groups and determine the factors that contribute to this difference. ⋯ New Mexican Hispanic smokers have clinically relevant, lower HRQL than their NHW counterparts. A perception of diminished physical functioning and impairment in daily life activities contribute to the poorer HRQL among Hispanic subjects.
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Predicting the need for intensive care among adults with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) remains challenging. ⋯ Serum PCT concentration was strongly associated with the risk of requiring IRVS among adults hospitalized with CAP and is potentially useful for guiding decisions about ICU admission.