Targets for antibiotic and healthcare resource stewardship in inpatient community-acquired pneumonia: a comparison of management practices with National Guideline Recommendations.

Purpose: Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is the most common infection leading to hospitalization in the USA. The objective of this study was to evaluate management practices for inpatient CAP in relation to Infectious Diseases Society of America/American Thoracic Society (IDSA/ATS) guidelines to identify opportunities for antibiotic and health care resource stewardship.

Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study of adults hospitalized for CAP at a single institution from 15 April 2008 to 31 May 2009.

Hospitalist-led medicine emergency department team: associations with throughput, timeliness of patient care, and satisfaction.

Background: Admitted patients boarding in the emergency department (ED) leads to hospital diversion. Active bed management and care for boarded patients can improve throughput. We developed a hospital medicine ED (HMED) team to participate in active bed management, and to care for boarded patients, to decrease diversion and improve throughput.

Artifact simulating fracture on cervical spine computed tomography.

We present the case of a 31-year-old trauma patient with computed tomography concerning significant C3-C4 subluxation. The abnormality is due to an artifact with which emergency physicians should be aware.

A confirmed case of agranulocytosis after use of cocaine contaminated with levamisole.

More than 2 million Americans use cocaine each month (National Survey on Drug Use and Health, Department of Health and Human Services: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) & Office of Applied Studies (OAS), Rockville, MD 2007). Starting in early 2003, South American cocaine cartels began to add levamisole, a pharmaceutical agent, to bulk cocaine prior to shipment to the USA (Valentino and Fuentecilla 2005). A dramatic increase in the prevalence of levamisole in cocaine was noted in early 2008.