Limitations of infrared ear temperature measurement in clinical practice.

Principles: Detection of elevated body temperature is critical in the early diagnosis of sepsis. Due to its convenience, infrared ear temperature measurement (IETM) has become the standard of care. Unfortunately, the limitations of this method are largely unexplored.

Patients presenting to the emergency department with non-specific complaints: the Basel Non-specific Complaints (BANC) study.

Objectives: Patient management in emergency departments (EDs) is often based on management protocols developed for specific complaints like dyspnea, chest pain, or syncope. To the best of our knowledge, to date no protocols exist for patients with nonspecific complaints (NSCs) such as "weakness,""dizziness," or "feeling unwell." The objectives of this study were to provide a framework for research and a description of patients with NSCs presenting to EDs.

Peripheral lymphadenopathy in immunocompetent adults.

Although unexplained lymphadenopathies are not particular prevalent in the general population (<1%), they represent a diagnostic dilemma. The differential diagnosis is broad, and although only few diseases will be either severe or treatable, patients as well as their doctors are in fear of missing a relevant diagnosis such as a malignancy. For the differential diagnosis it is prudent to distinguish between localised and generalised lymphadenopathy.

Appropriateness of antibiotic treatment in intravenous drug users, a retrospective analysis.

Background: Infectious disease is often the reason for intravenous drug users being seen in a clinical setting. The objective of this study was to evaluate the appropriateness of treatment and outcomes for this patient population in a hospital setting.

Methods: Retrospective study of all intravenous drug users hospitalized for treatment of infectious diseases and seen by infectious diseases specialists 1/2001-12/2006 at a university hospital.

TB in a low-incidence country: differences between new immigrants, foreign-born residents and native residents.

Background: New immigrants and foreign-born residents add to the burden of pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) in low-incidence countries. The highest TB rates have been found among recent immigrants. Active screening programs are likely to change the clinical presentation of TB, but the extent of the difference between immigrant and resident populations has not been studied prospectively.

Procalcitonin and the early diagnosis of infective endocarditis.

Background: Variability in the clinical presentation of infective endocarditis (IE) makes the diagnosis a clinical challenge. We hypothesized that serum procalcitonin, a marker of systemic bacterial infection, might be helpful in its diagnosis.

Methods And Results: We conducted a prospective cohort study in 67 consecutive patients admitted to the hospital with the suspicion of IE or in whom the suspicion arose during the hospital course.

Polymerase chain reaction for Mycobacterium tuberculosis: impact on clinical management of refugees with pulmonary infiltrates.

Study Objectives: Screening for pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) in war refugees entering low-prevalence countries for TB is a common policy, but workup strategies are difficult and expensive.

Design: Prospective screening of war refugees for TB by chest radiograph and evaluation of the impact of additional polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing for Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTB) on clinical management in case of pulmonary infiltrates suspicious for TB.

Setting: Academic university medical center.

Endocarditis caused by Finegoldia magna (formerly Peptostreptococcus magnus): diagnosis depends on the blood culture system used.

We present a patient with prosthetic valve endocarditis caused by Finegoldia magna (formerly Peptostreptococcus magnus). Blood cultures in the BacT/ALERT and BACTEC 9240 system were negative. We therefore tested different blood culture systems: F.

Pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of gatifloxacin against Streptococcus pneumoniae and Staphylococcus aureus in a granulocyte-rich exudate.

The pharmacokinetics of gatifloxacin were assessed in serum and in skin blister fluid (SBF), as was the pharmacodynamic activity in SBF. Five hours after a single dose of gatifloxacin, SBF killed 2.5 logs of Streptococcus pneumoniae and 1.