Revisiting percutaneous cholecystostomy for acute cholecystitis based on a 10-year experience.

Objectives: To identify patient characteristics leading to percutaneous cholecystostomy (PC) and to compare outcomes between PC and cholecystectomy (CCY) in patients with acute cholecystitis (AC).

Design: Retrospective cohort study. SETTING Veterans Affairs Boston Healthcare System.

Factors associated with post-operative conversion to methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus positivity or infection in initially MRSA-negative patients.

Background: Hospital-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is associated with morbid, invasive infections and has been implicated in nearly every type of nosocomial infection. Our aim was to identify the risk factors for patient conversion from MRSA negativity pre-operatively to MRSA positivity post-operatively.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed all patients at the Veterans Affairs-Boston Health Care System who underwent clean or clean-contaminated surgical procedures during the years 2008 and 2009 and had documented pre-operative nasal polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing for MRSA.

Preoperative nasal methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus status, surgical prophylaxis, and risk-adjusted postoperative outcomes in veterans.

Objectives: To determine whether preoperative nasal methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) carriage is a significant predictor of postoperative infections, after accounting for surgical infection risk and surgical prophylaxis.

Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Patients: Veterans Affairs (VA) Boston patients who had nasal MRSA polymerase chain reaction screening performed in the 31 days before clean or clean contaminated surgery in 2008-2009.

Healthy Living Cambridge Kids: a community-based participatory effort to promote healthy weight and fitness.

The objective of this study was to assess the impact of a community-based healthy weight intervention on child weight and fitness. Cambridge Public Schools (CPS) have monitored BMI and fitness annually since 2000. Annual increases of overweight and obesity from 2000 (37.