What Do We Owe to Patients Who Leave Against Medical Advice? The Ethics of AMA Discharges.

Discharges against medical advice (AMA) make up a significant number of hospital discharges in the United States, and often involve vulnerable patients who struggle to obtain adequate medical care. Unfortunately, much of the AMA discharge process focuses on absolving the medical center of liability for what happens to these patients once they leave the acute setting. Comparatively little attention is paid to the ethical obligations of the medical team once an informed decision to leave the acute care setting AMA has been made.

MRI criteria for the diagnosis of pleomorphic adenoma: a validation study.

Objectives: To validate an MRI algorithm characteristic of pleomorphic adenoma (PA).

Study Design: Cross-sectional analysis.

Setting: Academic tertiary-care medical center.

Changing indications for maxillomandibular reconstruction with osseous free flaps: a 17-year experience with 620 consecutive cases at UCLA and the impact of osteoradionecrosis.

Objectives/hypothesis: To characterize the changing indications for osseous free flaps in maxillomandibular reconstruction at our institution.

Study Design: Retrospective chart review.

Methods: Database review of patients who underwent free-flap reconstruction of the jaws using vascularized bone-containing free tissue transfer from 1995 to 2012 at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA).

A rudimentary tragus in the nasopharynx: case report, literature review, and discussion of embryologic development.

We describe the rare case of a nine year-old girl with a several month history of mouth breathing and nasal obstruction due to a rudimentary tragus in the nasopharynx. We focus on the accessory tragus and its origins by describing the embryologic development of the external ear. Based on our review of the medical literature, this is the first report of a nasopharyngeal mass with a pathologic diagnosis of a rudimentary tragus.

Neck abscess due to goose feathers leaked from a down comforter: case report, review of literature, and recommendations for parents.

We present a 10-month-old baby girl who developed a neck abscess from the penetration of neck skin by 2 goose feathers that leaked from a down comforter. We review the risks of down and feather bedding and discuss consumer recommendations for parents and pediatricians.