American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine
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Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. · Sep 2011
Prompting physicians to address a daily checklist and process of care and clinical outcomes: a single-site study.
Checklists may reduce errors of omission for critically ill patients. ⋯ In this single-site, preliminary study, checklist-based prompting improved multiple processes of care, and may have improved mortality and length of stay, compared with a stand-alone checklist. The manner in which checklists are implemented is of great consequence in the care of critically ill patients.
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Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. · Sep 2011
Short-course chemotherapy with TMC207 and rifapentine in a murine model of latent tuberculosis infection.
Multidrug-resistant and extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR/XDR-TB) is an emerging global health threat. Proper management of close contacts of infectious patients is increasingly important. However, no evidence-based recommendations for treating latent TB infection (LTBI) after MDR/XDR-TB exposure (DR-LTBI) exist. An ultrashort regimen for LTBI caused by drug-susceptible strains (DS-LTBI) is also desirable. TMC207 has bactericidal and sterilizing activity in animal models of TB and improves the activity of current MDR-TB therapy in patients. ⋯ TMC207 has substantial sterilizing activity and may enable treatment of DR-LTBI in 3-4 months.
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Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. · Sep 2011
Estrogen rescues preexisting severe pulmonary hypertension in rats.
Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is characterized by progressive increase in pulmonary artery pressure leading to right ventricular (RV) hypertrophy, RV failure, and death. Current treatments only temporarily reduce severity of the disease, and an ideal therapy is still lacking. ⋯ Estrogen rescues preexisting severe PH in rats by restoring lung and RV structure and function that are maintained even after removal of estrogen. Estrogen-induced rescue of PH is associated with stimulation of cardiopulmonary neoangiogenesis, suppression of inflammation, fibrosis, and RV hypertrophy. Furthermore, estrogen rescue is likely mediated through estrogen receptor-β.