General Information
Announcement
CME Instructions
SMJ // March 2013, Volume 106 - Issue 3
Original Article
Medical Care of Pregnant Women in Eastern North Carolina with Human Immunodeficiency Virus
Objectives: To assess the time lag between the diagnosis of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and the initiation of antiretroviral therapy (ART) in pregnant women. Methods: A retrospective chart review of 105 deliveries from HIV-positive women from January 2001 to June 2009 was undertaken. Results: One hundred five HIV-infected pregnant women…
Original Article
Does Ambulance Response Time Influence Patient Condition among Patients with Specific Medical and Trauma Emergencies?
Objectives: The relation between patient outcome and ambulance response times is unknown. We sought to measure the influence of shorter response times on patient outcomes. The objective of the study was to determine whether ambulance response time makes a difference in the outcomes of emergency medical services (EMS) patients with…
Original Article
Integrated Models of Education and Service Involving Community-Based Health Care for Underserved Populations Tulane Student-Run Free Clinics
Objectives: Throughout the United States numerous models of local programs, including student-run clinics, exist to address the issue of access to care. The role of these clinics in serving the local community and contributing to medical education has been documented only in limited detail, however. The purpose of this article…
Invited Commentary
Commentary on "Does Ambulance Response Time Influence Patient Condition among Patients with Specific Medical and Trauma Emergencies?"
It’s a run-of-the-mill day in a community emergency department (ED) when the emergency medical services (EMS) radio suddenly comes on. The shrill voice announces: “Priority one traffic, chest pain.” The call from EMS describes a 49-year-old man with significant cardiac history, diaphoretic appearance, and vague ST changes on lead II….
Original Article
Does the Addition of Vocera Hands-Free Communication Device Improve Interruptions in an Academic Emergency Department?
Objective: Emergency department (ED) interruptions occur frequently. Recently, a hands-free communication device (HCD; Vocera) was added to the population of communications devices (a cellular telephone and a pager) in our ED. The research purpose was to determine whether this addition improved interruption times and our hypothesis was the device would…
Review Article
Management of Hyperglycemia in Hospitalized Noncritical Patients
Randomized trials designed to determine optimum blood glucose (BG) levels among hospitalized noncritically ill patients are limited. In this group of patients, experts generally recommend premeal BG targets of 100 to 140 mg/dL, and random BG <180 mg/dL. Scheduled insulin is the mainstay therapy to control hyperglycemia in patients admitted…
Invited Commentary
Commentary on “Medical Care of Pregnant Women in Eastern North Carolina with Human Immunodeficiency Virus”
Rimawi and colleagues are to be commended for drawing our attention to an easily overlooked but common flaw in our healthcare system—the failure to provide efficacious, low-tech services in a timely manner.1 Their study, conducted in eastern North Carolina, found that in almost half of all pregnancies complicated by human…
Original Article
Comparison of Breast-feeding Knowledge, Attitudes, and Beliefs Before and After Educational Intervention for Rural Appalachian High School Students
Objectives: Breast-feeding rates in rural and southeastern regions of the United States are lower than national rates and Healthy People 2020 targets. The objectives of this study were to understand current breast-feeding knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs among rural southern Appalachian adolescents and to explore whether a high school educational intervention…
Original Article
Prevalence and Impact of Anemia in Hospitalized Patients
Objective: The prevalence of anemia is increasing in the general population similarly to other comorbidities and is associated with high mortality in a variety of settings. Most studies, however, have analyzed older adults or specific comorbidities, and the independent impact of anemia on outcomes in a general population of hospitalized…
Original Article
Community-Acquired Pneumonia with Risk for Drug-Resistant Pathogens
Background: Pneumonia is a leading infectious cause of morbidity and mortality in the United States. The Infectious Disease Society of America (IDSA) and American Thoracic Society (ATS) have published treatment guidelines for community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) based upon the site of acquisition and specific pathogen risk. The literature demonstrates improved outcomes…
Invited Commentary
Commentary on “Prevalence and Impact of Anemia in Hospitalized Patients”
The effects of anemia on the course of patients hospitalized for other conditions usually have been studied in defined groups of patients, many of whom were older adults (eg, those with congestive heart failure, myocardial infarction, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease). They show highly variable frequencies of concurrent anemia and…
