Hazard Assessment and Remediation Tool for Simulation-Based Healthcare Facility Design Testing.

Objectives: To develop an objective, structured observational tool to enable identification and measurement of hazards in the built environment when applied to audiovisual recordings of simulations by trained raters.

Background: Simulation-based facility design testing is increasingly used to optimize safety of healthcare environments, often relying on participant debriefing or direct observation by human factors experts.

Methods: Hazard categories were defined through participant debriefing and detailed review of pediatric intensive care unit in situ simulation videos.

Diminished perception of ambient light: a symptom of clinical depression?

Objective: In a non-randomized, uncontrolled pilot study, the authors investigated whether depressed patients were more likely to perceive the lighting in their environment as being dimmer than usual.

Method: 120 patients (46 males, 74 females) who presented for possible admission for depression at a psychiatric facility were administered a Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of disorders (DSM-IV) based questionnaire and underwent psychiatric evaluation. A question asking whether 'the lights in my surroundings seem dimmer than usual' was included in the 15-point question survey.

Production of monoclonal antibodies to Sp2/O-Ag 14 myeloma cells.

The hybridoma technology developed by Kohler and Milstein allows the obtention of antibodies of a single specificity (i.e. monoclonal antibodies).

Detection and quantification of laryngotracheopulmonary aspiration with scintigraphy.

Aspiration is analyzed by a new scintigraphic technique and standard videofluoroscopy in 78 patients with head and neck pathology and neurologic disorders. When both methods are compared to clinical aspiration and a positive x-ray film of pneumonia, they appear to complement each other and provide a very accurate evaluation. Scintigraphy is a more sensitive method for detecting aspiration below the vocal cords and also provides for flow dynamics and a method of quantifying the amount of aspirated material.

Acute ureteral obstruction as a complication of suprapubic catheterization.

Suprapubic cystostomy catheters are an important tool for the management of patients who require urinary drainage. Although complications occur after the procedure, they are usually minor. A case of acute obstruction at the ureterovesical junction caused by a suprapubic cystostomy catheter tip is presented.

Computed tomography of acute renal abscess due to Salmonella chester.

A case of renal abscess caused by an unusual Salmonella serotype is presented in which the clinical presentation was suggestive of renal neoplasia. The CT findings of renal abscesses and neoplasm are discussed as well as a brief discussion on the epidemiology of Salmonella infections.