Impact of Defaulting to Single-Lumen Peripherally Inserted Central Catheters on Patient Outcomes: An Interrupted Time Series Study.

Defaulting to single-lumen peripherally inserted central catheters (PICCs) ordered from non-critical care units resulted in a sustained reduction in PICC-related complications. This system of care is transferrable to other institutions, with potential for improved patient safety and efficiency in outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy clinics.

Preliminary results of the generation of a shortened quality-of-life assessment for patients with advanced cancer: the FACIT-Pal-14.

Objective: Shortened quality-of-life (QOL) tools are advantageous in palliative care patients. Development of such tools begins with the identification of issues relevant to a population. The purpose of this study was to identify the most important items of the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Palliative Care (FACIT-Pal) to create an abbreviated questionnaire for future palliative care trials.

Patients' and Health Care Providers' Evaluation of Quality of Life Issues in Advanced Cancer Using Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy - Palliative Care Module (FACIT-Pal) Scale.

Background: To examine the agreement of Health Care Providers (HCPs) and patients' evaluation of quality of life on the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness therapy - Palliative care module (FACIT-Pal) scale.

Methods: Sixty advanced cancer patients and fifty-six health care providers involved in their care at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre completed a modified version of the FACIT- Pal. In the survey, patients and HCPs indicated the 10 top issues affecting the quality of life of patients with advanced cancer most profoundly.

Acute renal failure, gastrointestinal bleeding, and cardiac arrhythmia after administration of arsenic trioxide for acute promyelocytic leukemia.

Purpose: The case of a patient who developed acute renal failure, gastrointestinal bleeding, and cardiac arrhythmia after receiving arsenic trioxide for the treatment of acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) is described.

Summary: An 84-year-old Caucasian woman with a history of osteoarthritis sought medical attention for relapse of her APL, which had initially been diagnosed approximately 30 months earlier. Complete remission was accomplished with three cycles of i.

Graphium basitruncatum fungemia in a patient with acute leukemia.

We report the first case of infection caused by Graphium basitruncatum in a man with acute leukemia who developed persistent fungemia and skin lesions. G. basitruncatum, a member of the Microascaceae, is phylogenetically and morphologically distinct from Graphium penicillioides and the opportunistic pathogens Scedosporium apiospermum (Pseudallescheria boydii) and Scedosporium prolificans.