Functional recruitment of newborn hippocampal neurons after experimental stroke.

The adult brain responds to diverse pathologies such as stroke with increased generation of neurons in the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus. However, only little is known regarding the functional integration of newborn neurons into pre-existing neuronal circuits. In this study, we investigated whether newborn neurons generated after experimental stroke are recruited for different behavioral tasks.

Treatment of clozapine- and molindone-induced agranulocytosis with granulocyte colony-stimulating factor.

Objective: To report a case of clozapine- and molindone-induced agranulocytosis and to discuss treatment using filgrastim, a granulocyte colony-stimulating factor.

Case Summary: A 64-year-old woman who had been on long-term clozapine therapy for schizophrenia was hospitalized with presumed drug-induced agranulocytosis. She had also been on short-term molindone therapy.

Quality assurance for a nutritional support service.

Quality assurance programs may significantly influence patient care by providing a systematic mechanism of self-assessment. An effective program should improve the level of care and have a positive effect on the fiscal base of a health care institution. The design of a useful quality assurance program is not a trivial matter.

Parenteral nutrition for marrow transplant recipients: evaluation of an increased nitrogen dose.

The use of total parenteral nutrition in bone marrow transplant (BMT) recipients is well recognized. These patients as a result of treatment with chemotherapy and immunosuppressive agents undergo catabolic stress. The metabolic effect of an increased nitrogen dose during total parenteral nutrition (TPN) was studied in 28 BMT patients.

Pharmacy-controlled documentation of drug allergies.

The implementation of a pharmacy-enforced policy for documenting drug allergies is described. After two incidents at a 600-bed teaching hospital in which patients experienced severe allergic reactions to drugs, an audit was conducted to evaluate the existing drug allergy documentation policy. Physicians documented allergies in medical charts and treatment orders for 68% and 78% of patients, respectively; no initial drug orders contained this information.