OBJECTIVE To determine the outcomes of patients discharged from the emergency department (ED) with a bloodstream infection (BSI) and how these outcomes are influenced by antibiotic treatment. METHOD We identified every BSI in adult patients discharged from our ED to the community between July 1, 2002, and March 31, 2011. The medical records of all cases were reviewed to determine antibiotic t...

Although clinical and hemodynamic stability predicted outcome very well when left ventricular aneurysm was electively resected in 25 patients (95% survival), more discriminate criteria were essential for 20 patients undergoing urgent operation for severe myocardial decompensation (50% survival). Three methods of ventriculographic analysis primarily sensitive to the function of the non-aneurysma...

Acute symptomatic occlusion of the cervical internal carotid artery (ICA) can be treated by intravenous administration of tissue plasminogen activator, percutaneous transluminal angioplasty, and carotid endarterectomy. Carotid artery stenting (CAS) is now indicated for cervical ICA stenosis, but the safety and the efficacy of urgent CAS have not been established. We retrospectively reviewed 10 ...

BACKGROUND Although it is well-known that early detection of colorectal cancer (CRC) is important for optimal patient survival, the relationship of patient and health system factors with delayed diagnosis are unclear. The purpose of this study was to identify the demographic, clinical and healthcare factors related to mode of CRC detection and length of the diagnostic interval. METHODS All re...

Urgent-start peritoneal dialysis (PD) can be defined as initiation of PD within 2 weeks of catheter insertion. Urgent-start PD can be offered to patients who are referred late to a nephrologist and who would typically be initiated on hemodialysis with a temporary vascular access. An urgent-start PD capability requires expedited options education, catheter placement, unique change in the PD unit...

BACKGROUND In deciding where to undergo coronary-artery bypass grafting, the length of surgical wait lists is often the only information available to cardiologists and their patients. Our objective was to compare the cumulative incidence for death on the wait list according to the length of wait lists at the time of registration for the operation. METHODS The study cohort included 8966 patien...

To analyze the outcome of urgent carotid endarterectomy (CEA) performed within less than six hours in patients with crescendo transient ischemic attack (TIA) and stroke in progression. From January 1998 to December 2008, 58 urgent CEAs were done for acute neurological ischemic events--46 patients with crescendo TIA and 12 patients with stroke in progression. Brain computed tomography (CT) was d...

Upper gastrointestinal bleeding (UGIB) is one of the most common emergencies in gastroenterology practice. In recent years, the introduction of urgent upper gastrointestinal endoscopy (UGIE) and of the treatment with proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) in high doses has resulted in an improvement of the treatment outcome in patients with UGIB, but without a significant improvement in mortality rates....

conclusions we found that the use of clopidogrel in patients undergoing pci had favorable effects on the suppression of hs-crp. this effect appears to be heightened and more apparent in some group of patients with co-morbidities such as diabetes and hypertension. results six hundred-fifty patients including 386 (59.4%) male and 264 (40.6%) female subjects were enrolled in the study. the mean hs...