A host gene expression approach for identifying triggers of asthma exacerbations.

Rationale: Asthma exacerbations often occur due to infectious triggers, but determining whether infection is present and whether it is bacterial or viral remains clinically challenging. A diagnostic strategy that clarifies these uncertainties could enable personalized asthma treatment and mitigate antibiotic overuse.

Objectives: To explore the performance of validated peripheral blood gene expression signatures in discriminating bacterial, viral, and noninfectious triggers in subjects with asthma exacerbations.

A prospective study of transmission of Multidrug-Resistant Organisms (MDROs) between environmental sites and hospitalized patients-the TransFER study.

Objective: Hospital environmental surfaces are frequently contaminated by microorganisms. However, the causal mechanism of bacterial contamination of the environment as a source of transmission is still debated. This prospective study was performed to characterize the nature of multidrug-resistant organism (MDRO) transmission between the environment and patients using standard microbiological and molecular techniques.

Pneumococcal Carriage and Vaccine Coverage in Retirement Community Residents.

Objectives: To evaluate pneumococcal immunization in older adults living in retirement communities and to measure nasopharyngeal carriage of Streptococcus pneumoniae to better assess the potential for herd protection from the 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV-13) in these settings.

Design: Cross-sectional observational study of adults aged 65 and older living in retirement communities to determine coverage with 23-valent pneumococcal vaccine (PPSV-23), coverage with PCV-13 in immuncompromised individuals according to 2012 Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) guidelines, and nasopharyngeal carriage of S. pneumoniae.

Restoration of renal responsiveness to atrial natriuretic peptide in experimental nephrotic syndrome by albumin infusion.

Background: The natriuretic/diuretic response to atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP), an important regulator of water and Na(+) balance, is markedly attenuated in nephrotic syndrome (NS). It has been suggested that the diminished renal responsiveness to ANP may contribute to the pathogenesis of salt retention and edema formation in NS. However, the mechanisms underlying the renal hyporesponsiveness to ANP remain largely unknown.

Early fluid resuscitation in patients with rhabdomyolysis.

Extensive rhabdomyolysis is often lethal unless treated immediately. Early mortality arises from hypovolemic shock, hyperkalemia, acidosis and myoglobinuric acute kidney injury (AKI). Many individuals with rhabdomyolysis could be saved, and myoglobinuric AKI prevented, by early vigorous fluid resuscitation with ≥12 l daily intravenous infusion of alkaline solution started at the scene of injury.