The American journal of the medical sciences
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Observational Study
Intensive Care Unit Admission With Community-Acquired Pneumonia.
There has been a dramatic increase in the use of intensive care units (ICUs) over the past 25 years. Greater use of validated measures of illness severity may better inform ICU admission decisions in patients with community-acquired pneumonia. This article examined predictors of ICU admission and hospitalization costs, including the pneumonia severity index (PSI) and CURB-65 (confusion, uremia, respiratory rate, blood pressure, age ≥65 years) scores. ⋯ Illness severity and chronic pulmonary disease are strong predictors of ICU admission. More extensive use of the PSI may optimize site-of-care decisions, thereby minimizing mortality and unnecessary resource utilization.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Free 25-Hydroxyvitamin D Concentrations in Cystic Fibrosis.
Vitamin D deficiency is common in cystic fibrosis (CF), but there is no previous data on free 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D) in CF or in relation to healthy individuals. ⋯ Serum levels of directly measured free 25(OH)D positively correlated with total 25(OH)D, suggesting that achieving sufficient total serum 25(OH)D may result in adequate free 25(OH)D levels in CF.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Trimetazidine Prevention of Contrast-Induced Nephropathy in Coronary Angiography.
Contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN) after coronary angiography is frequently observed in patients with chronic renal insufficiency and no effective measures have been developed for prevention of CIN. There is evidence showing that trimetazidine (TMZ) has renoprotective effect on CIN. This study was to evaluate the role of TMZ in the prevention of CIN in renal dysfunction patients undergoing coronary angiography. ⋯ TMZ in combination with standard hydration is more effective than isotonic saline alone in protecting renal function in patients with renal dysfunction who undergo coronary angiography and can reduce the adverse events within 12 months.
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Contemporary estimates of the prevalence of diagnosed osteoporosis among long-term care facility residents are limited. ⋯ In our sample, osteoporosis diagnostic testing was rare and treatment rates were low. Our results suggest that osteoporosis may be underdiagnosed and undertreated in long-term care settings.