Septicemia in patients with AIDS admitted to a university health system: a case series of eighty-three patients.

Background: Patients with AIDS incur higher rates of infection than the general population. However, little evidence exists to guide family physicians in selecting antibiotics for initial empiric therapy for suspected septicemia.

Methods: We recorded the causative organisms of septicemia (defined here as bacteremia, fungemia, or both) in 83 patients with AIDS admitted to the teaching hospitals of the University of Louisville from 1996 to 2006.

Lifetime follow-up care after childhood cancer.

Cancers that occur during childhood and adolescence (ages 0 to 19 years) are very responsive to treatment, with a current overall cure rate of better than 80%. However, approximately 75% of childhood cancer survivors develop late effects, including problems with growth and development, vital organ function, reproduction, and psychological health, as well as serious complications of secondary neoplasms and recurrence. The primary physician should continue some level of involvement during all phases of patient care and pay special attention to possible late effects during the follow-up phase.

Cousin Lizzie's tuberculosis tent.

Before the discovery of antibiotics as a cure for tuberculosis in the 1940s, open-air therapy was the standard treatment for the disease. This article describes how families and health care institutions used tents, shacks, balconies, and verandas to expose loved ones and patients to the cold, pure air that was believed to help them fight tubercle bacillus.

Philip S. Hench, M.D., Sc.D. (1896-1965): a glimpse at the early clinical years.

Philip S. Hench, M.D.

Comparison of incidence of invasive Streptococcus pneumoniae disease among children before and after introduction of conjugated pneumococcal vaccine.

Objectives: The objective was to determine whether there has been a significant decrease in the incidence of invasive Streptococcus pneumoniae disease in the Louisville, KY, area since heptavalent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine was introduced in the winter of 1999-2000. A secondary objective was to collect demographic data regarding invasive S. pneumoniae disease in the Louisville, KY, area during the 1997-2002 period.