Hospital case management and the Utilization Review Committee.

Purpose/objectives: This article describes the overall regulatory mandate governing the Utilization Review Committee (URC) in the hospital setting. General structure, function, and meeting format of the URC are important considerations. Furthermore, the URC can serve as a vital platform for medical staff leadership and case management practice to use pertinent risk-adjusted data to drive needed change at the organizational, departmental, service line, and physician level.

Psychiatric assessment of Cleopatra--a challenging evaluation.

There was conducted a retrospective study of a remarkable personality in history of two millennia ago: Cleopatra, the Great. Though there was a paucity of hard facts about her early years, yet considerable pertinent information could be gleaned from scholarly writings about this versatile queen to render a diagnosis. Cleopatra was a complex, dynamic woman who rose to power in the Mediterranean world, but eliminated herself dramatically when she could not bear defeat in her narcissistic personality.

A case of catatonia induced by bacterial meningoencephalitis.

A 51-year-old man with renal cell carcinoma developed lethargy, disorientation, and fever; shortly thereafter, he had several episodes of sudden-onset catatonia. He was found to have bacterial meningoencephalitis and frontal lobe EEG abnormalities. Treatment with antibiotic and phenytoin was started, and the catatonic episodes subsided.