A Simple Frailty Index Predicts Inhospital Mortality.

Introduction: Comparing frailty models in different settings that predict inhospital mortality might modify patient disposition and treatment, but models are often complex.

Methods: In the following study, we selected all acutely admitted adult patients in 2020-2021 to the three internal medicine departments at a regional 400-bed hospital. We attempt to determine (a) if a new scale (Laniado-4 scale) that includes only three yes/no questions derived from the Norton scale and the presence of a urinary catheter performs as well as the graded Norton scale (including all five domains), in predicting inhospital mortality and (b) to determine the predictive value of a simple frailty index that includes the new scale as well as categories of age, serum albumin, and creatinine values.

Is It Safe to Treat Stable Patients with Bacteremic Urinary Tract Infections with High-Resistant-Rate Antibiotics?

Background And Objectives: In most areas of the world, urine bacteria have high resistance rates to third-generation cephalosporins, and it is unclear if it is safe to treat stable patients with bacteremic urinary tract infections (UTI) with those antibiotics. There are recommendations that empiric therapy for a suspected UTI should include only antibiotics with resistance rates less than 10%.

Materials And Methods: In this historical observational single center study, we selected 180 stable internal medicine patients hospitalized between January 2019 and December 2021, with identical bacteria isolated from blood and urine cultures.

Laboratory Tests, Bacterial Resistance, and Treatment Options in Adult Patients Hospitalized with a Suspected Urinary Tract Infection.

Patients treated for systemic urinary tract infections commonly have nonspecific presentations, and the specificity of the results of the urinalysis and urine cultures is low. In the following narrative review, we will describe the widespread misuse of urine testing, and consider how to limit testing, the disutility of urine cultures, and the use of antibiotics in hospitalized adult patients. Automated dipstick testing is more precise and sensitive than the microscopic urinalysis which will result in false negative test results if ordered to confirm a positive dipstick test result.

Do Laboratory Blood Tests Change Medical Care in Patients Hospitalized with Community-Acquired Pneumonia?

: The prevalence of inappropriate laboratory testing is believed to be high, but only a limited number of studies have reviewed medical charts to determine whether tests impact medical care. : From the electronic database, we selected 500 consecutive patients with community-acquired pneumonia who were hospitalized between January 2020 and October 2021. We excluded eight patients who had COVID-19, but were not identified in the database, and were only identified after chart review.