Survival following non-operative management of infected coronary artery aneurysm with infected pericardial effusion complicated by multi-organ failure: a case report.

Background: Infected coronary artery aneurysm with infected pericardial effusion is a very rare complication following percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and is associated with high mortality. Management options include open cardiothoracic surgery or non-operative management with pericardiocentesis. The best management option is currently unknown.

Evaluating the impact of implementing an early warning score system on incidence of in-hospital cardiac arrest.

Aim: To evaluate the introduction of an early warning score (EWS) system on incidence of in-hospital adult cardiac arrest.

Methods: A before-after evaluation of an EWS system (in the form of a patient observation chart with escalation protocol) in a 600 bed tertiary teaching hospital in New Zealand during the two 12-month periods between March 2009 and March 2011. Difference in incidence rates was compared using Student's t test.