Prescribing of medicines is one of the most important clinical task that is complex and consists of a mixture of sub-competences such as principles of clinical pharmacology, knowledge, skill, critical judgement among many others. Prescription errors, potentially serious and non-serious, have been reported in the United Kingdom hospitals among both junior and senior doctors. The aim of this stud...

BACKGROUND Molecular methods based on phylogenetic differences in the 16S rRNA gene are able to characterise the microbiota of the respiratory tract in health and disease. OBJECTIVES Our goals were (1) to characterise bacterial communities in lower and upper airways of patients with interstitial lung disease (ILD) and (2) to compare the results with the microbiota of patients with Pneumocysti...

GCS: group C Streptococcus URI: upper respiratory tract infection S treptococcus dysgalactiae, a group C Streptococcus (GCS), is a Gram-positive bacterium that is a commensal colonizer of the upper respiratory tract and skin. Initially thought to be nonpathogenic, increasing evidence suggests it is an important bacterial pathogen in humans. It has been implicated in a variety of infections incl...

OBJECTIVE To assess the quality of antibiotic prescribing in primary care in Belgium, the Netherlands and Sweden using European disease-specific antibiotic prescribing quality indicators (APQI) and taking into account the threshold to consult and national guidelines. DESIGN A retrospective observational database study. SETTING Routine primary health care registration networks in Belgium, th...

Volume 82, Number 6 www.aafp.org/afp American Family Physician 669 A 16-year-old girl presented with fatigue, weight loss, and dysphagia that began several months earlier. She had restless sleep leading to daytime somnolence and poor school performance, and her family reported loud snoring. Her medical history was unremarkable, except for recurrent upper respiratory tract infections. Physical e...

PURPOSE Although common in children with tympanostomy tubes, the current incidence of tympanostomy tube otorrhea (TTO) is uncertain. TTO is generally a sign of otitis media, when middle ear fluid drains through the tube. Predictors for otitis media are therefore suggested to have predictive value for the occurrence of TTO. OBJECTIVE To determine the incidence of TTO and its predictors. METH...

OBJECTIVE Limited data exists regarding risk factors for otitis media in older children and specifically those for which surgical intervention is performed. This study investigated potential risk factors in this older age group who required pressure equalization tube (PET) insertion. STUDY DESIGN Retrospective cohort study. SETTING Tertiary care pediatric academic medical center. SUBJECTS...