A rare case of Aerococcus urinae infective endocarditis in an atypically young male: case report and review of the literature.

Background: Aerococcus urinae is a gram-positive, alpha-hemolytic coccus bacterium primarily implicated in less than 1 % of all symptomatic urinary tract infections. Risk factors for disease include male gender, advanced age, and comorbid genitourinary tract pathology. Infections beyond the genitourinary tract are rare, though spondylodiscitis, perineal abscesses, lymphadenitis, bacteremia, meningitis, and endocarditis have been reported.

Quality in orthopaedic surgery--an international perspective: AOA critical issues.

Quality is a hallmark of health care, although it is difficult to come to a consensus on who gets to define what "quality health care" is. Most health-care workers enter this field with the goal of improving the health of their patients (and the community), and while everyone tries to do the best job possible, we must continuously seek better methods and techniques for achieving better outcomes. The passion for continuous improvement is fundamental, but passion is not sufficient by itself.

Outcomes and long term follow-up after emergent cricothyroidotomy: is routine conversion to tracheostomy necessary?

The purpose of this study is to identify factors associated with survival after cricothyroidotomy (CRIC), and to ascertain long-term outcomes in patients simply decannulated after CRIC versus those revised to tracheostomy. All CRICs between October 1, 1995 and June 20, 2010 were reviewed. Patients were contacted by phone, visited at their last known address, or queried in the Center for Disease Control's National Death Index.