Enhancing Patient Safety: The Role of Interdisciplinary Teams in Reducing Blood Culture Contamination.

Background: Blood cultures are vital to diagnostic workups among many hospitalized patients, providing valuable information about bloodstream infections (BSIs), which cause roughly 250 000 deaths annually between North America and Europe. Despite advances in health care, blood culture contamination remains a substantial problem, with deleterious effects on patient mortality, patient and hospital costs, and microbial resistance. This article reviews the repercussions of blood culture contamination on the health care system and delineates evidence-based strategies to decrease contamination rates.

Healthcare Provider Burnout: Red Flag for a Rising Epidemic.

Objectives: This article aims to broaden the understanding of burnout in healthcare providers, its causes, and its reduction strategies. The objectives are to raise awareness, facilitate early intervention, and, ultimately, improve the overall well-being of healthcare providers and the quality of patient care.

Methods: The study investigated healthcare-provision-associated burnout, an often-unrecognized syndrome affecting professionals worldwide, and its prevalence.

Superior Vena Cava Syndrome Masquerading as Angioedema: A Chemotherapy Port Complication.

Superior vena cava (SVC) syndrome is a constellation of symptoms that occur secondary to external compression of the SVC, most commonly by a mediastinal malignancy. With the increased use of implanted cardiac devices and indwelling central venous catheters, SVC syndrome from a benign cause has become quite common. This report follows a 62-year-old female who was initially admitted to the critical care unit for treatment of angioedema without a history of malignancy but was found to have a surgically placed port used to treat her rheumatoid arthritis.

Fever, Leukocytosis, and Ulcerated Vulvar Lesions: An Atypical Presentation Concerning Behcet's Disease.

Behcet's disease (BD) is a variable-vessel vasculitis commonly presenting in early adulthood with painful oral aphthous ulcers, genital ulcers, uveitis, pathergy, and skin lesions. The diagnosis of BD is made clinically based on criteria from the International Study Group (ISG) and the International Criteria for Behcet's Disease (ICBD). Due to the wide constellation of symptoms BD can cause, it can be challenging to diagnose in an acute setting.

Grade IV Glioma Potentially Disguised As COVID-19 Encephalitis.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is caused by the severe acute respiratory distress syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which became a pandemic in March 2020. Since that time, research has shed light on this disease's pulmonary, cardiac, and hematologic complications. However, we are still unraveling the complex neurologic sequelae of COVID-19.

To Transfuse or Not to Transfuse: A Case of Unresectable Renal Cell Carcinoma-Induced Warm Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia.

Warm autoimmune hemolytic anemia (WAIHA) is a rare disease. Roughly half of all cases are considered either primary or idiopathic. The remaining cases are typically secondary to a drug reaction or an underlying disease state such as malignancy, infection, or chronic autoimmune disease.

Subglottic Stenosis as a Presentation of Antineutrophil Cytoplasmic Antibody-Associated Glomerulonephritis.

Granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA), previously Wegener's granulomatosis, is a necrotizing vasculitic disease process affecting the small- and medium-sized blood vessels. GPA is frequently associated with damage to the respiratory tract and kidneys but often affects other organ systems including the eyes, nasopharynx, and nervous system. Due to the vague nature of presenting symptoms and the progressive nature of GPA, it is essential to keep a broad differential to mitigate the high morbidity and mortality associated with the disease.