Use of Computed Tomography of the Head in Patients With Acute Atraumatic Altered Mental Status: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Importance: The usefulness of computed tomography of the head (CTH) in patients with acute-onset atraumatic altered mental status (AMS) is poorly understood, but use in these patients remains high.

Objective: To evaluate the use of CTH (event rate) in patients with AMS and the positive outcome event rate of the performed CTH studies.

Data Sources: The PubMed/MEDLINE, PubMed Central, Embase, and CINAHL databases were searched using predefined Boolean parameters.

A Case of Steroid-Responsive Severe Pneumonia Following a Recent COVID-19 Infection in a Patient With Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated With Streptococcal Infection.

A twenty-two-year-old woman with a history of pediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorders associated with streptococcal infection (PANDAS) on rituximab presented with fever, abdominal pain, and worsening shortness of breath requiring supplemental oxygen via nasal cannula one month after a severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV2) infection from which she was minimally symptomatic and had recovered. Radiographic studies revealed bilateral patchy consolidations interspersed with ground-glass opacities (GGO). She was started on antibiotics for presumed community-acquired pneumonia with no improvement.

Endobronchial blastomycoses: A rare pathogen in a unique location.

A middle-aged woman from Southwest Virginia presented to pulmonary clinic with 4 months of dry cough. Further imaging with Computed Tomography (CT) of the chest showed an infiltrative lung mass. The patient underwent bronchoscopy that showed an endobronchial lesion on right and left main stem bronchi.

Coexistence of Pernicious Anemia and Myasthenia Gravis Presenting As Dyspnea.

Dyspnea is a common symptom and may be due to a multitude of conditions, including cardiopulmonary insufficiency, anemia, neuromuscular disorders, obesity, or deconditioning. It is not uncommon that more than one process contributes to shortness of breath. Here, we present a patient with a complaint of worsening shortness of breath who was found to have two very rare causes of dyspnea simultaneously.

pneumonia in newly diagnosed treatment-naïve chronic lymphocytic leukaemia.

A 78-year-old man with newly diagnosed treatment-naïve chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) was referred to a pulmonary clinic for 1 month of dry cough and dyspnoea on exertion. Further workup with CT of the chest showed patchy ground-glass opacities predominantly on the right side. The patient was started on empiric antibiotic for presumed community-acquired pneumonia but did not have any improvement in his symptoms and eventually required supplemental oxygen.

Long-Term Oxygen Therapy and Risk of Fire-Related Events.

Introduction: Two large major trials showed that long-term oxygen therapy (LTOT) improved mortality in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and hypoxemia. Although oxygen accelerates combustion and is an obvious fire hazard, LTOT has traditionally been prescribed to veterans who are actively smoking.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective chart review of all veterans with COPD at a single center who were prescribed new LTOT between October 2010 and September 2015.

Sepsis as the primary admitting diagnosis of transferred patients who died within 48 hours of arrival at a Central Texas hospital.

Interhospital transfers are independently associated with inpatient mortality, and transferred patients have worse outcomes. The aim of this study was to retrospectively assess the 48-hour mortality rate in interhospital transfer cohorts of all transfers to a Central Texas teaching hospital and to identify a primary admitting diagnosis for potential intervention. A total of 15,435 patients with 19,161 transfers over the course of the study were retrospectively reviewed and placed in 18 different categories based upon the primary admitting diagnosis.

Pre-eclampsia has an adverse impact on maternal and fetal health.

Pre-eclampsia (preE) is a multifaceted complication found uniquely in the pregnant patient and one that has puzzled scientists for years. PreE is not a single disorder, but a complex syndrome that is produced by various pathophysiological triggers and mechanisms affecting about 5% of obstetrical patients. PreE is a major cause of premature delivery and maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality.

Gastrointestinal Variant of Lemierre Syndrome: Fusobacterium nucleatum Bacteremia-Associated Hepatic Vein Thrombosis: a Case Report and Literature Review.

Fusobacterium nucleatum is a gram-negative bacillius commonly found in oropharynx and is traditionally associated with Lemierre syndrome, which is characterized by history of recent oropharyngeal infection, internal jugular vein thrombosis, and isolation of anaerobic pathogens, mainly Fuosobacterium necrophorum. However, recent evidence indicated that F. nucleatum is also a normal resident of human gut.

Haemophilus paraphrophilus peritonitis followed by tuberculous peritonitis and Pott's disease.

Patients with alcoholic cirrhosis who have ascites have a high risk of developing spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP). The authors report a case of SBP caused by Haemophilus paraphrophilus, the first-reported SBP in literature with this pathogen. Later on, the patient also developed tuberculous (TB) peritonitis associated with thoracic Pott's disease, a combination never reported before.