The prevalence of binge drinking among primary care residents.

Background: Over one quarter of American adults binge drink, resulting in significant alcohol-related morbidity and mortality. Although brief interventions can decrease patients' alcohol use, many physicians in training do not provide this service. This study examines the prevalence of binge drinking among primary care residents, and the association of resident drinking behaviors with addressing patients' hazardous alcohol use.

Is the incidence of heparin-induced thrombocytopenia affected by the increased use of heparin for VTE prophylaxis?

Background: The increased exposure to heparin products for thromboprophylaxis against VTE in hospitalized patients raises concerns for an increase in the incidence of heparin-induced thrombocytopenia(HIT).

Methods: We analyzed, among 90,875 patients exposed to heparin products between 2005 and 2009, the number of hematologic consultations for thrombocytopenia, requests for heparin induced antibodies by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and cases given a diagnosis of HIT by the hematology consult service.

Results: We observed that despite a doubling in the number of patients receiving pharmacoprophylaxis with heparin, there was no significant increase in the number of consultations for thrombocytopenia,the number of requests for HIT tests, the number of positive HIT test results, or the number of HIT diagnoses.

Deep venous thromboses in patients with hematological malignancies after peripherally inserted central venous catheters.

The incidence of deep venous thromboses (DVTs) associated with peripherally inserted central catheters (PICCs) in patients with hematological malignancies is not well described. We sought to determine the incidence, characteristics, and outcomes of PICC-related DVTs in this patient population. Retrospective, single center cohort analysis of patients with hematological malignancies with upper extremity PICCs and symptomatic upper extremity DVTs were identified by electronic medical record databases search.

Electronic medical billing records and public health surveillance: comparison of two systems used during the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games.

For selected diagnoses of public health interest during the 1996 Olympic Games, the authors compared data concurrently obtained on the same patient population by two separate surveillance systems: (1) an existing hospital electronic medical billing records system and (2) a system based on manual record abstraction. Counts of total patient visits closely agreed, though the two systems differed considerably in some diagnostic categories, especially injuries. The authors concluded that while causation, risk factors, and illness severity are not reflected directly in standard International Classification of Diseases (ICD) codes, and "E" codes to indicate causation may not be used, special-purpose surveillance systems based on existing computerized medical records may be as effective as manual data abstracting.