Management of intractable hiccups: an illustrative case and review.

Often thought of as a benign and self-limited condition, hiccups can become persistent or intractable, and thus be associated with substantial morbidity and distress. In such cases, an underlying etiology is often present, and may be overlooked. Debilitating hiccups can present a major challenge to optimal symptom management.

Effectiveness of a clinical practice guideline for parenteral nutrition: a 5-year follow-up study in a pediatric teaching hospital.

Objective: To determine the effectiveness of a clinical practice guideline (CPG) on the use of parenteral nutrition (PN) at a tertiary care pediatric hospital.

Methods: Review of prospectively collected data on hospital-wide PN use 2 years before and 5 years after the establishment of the CPG. Effectiveness of the CPG was measured as the percentage of PN courses lasting fewer than 5 days and the number of PN starts per 1000 patient days.