Tigecycline for the treatment of patients with Clostridium difficile infection: an update of the clinical evidence.

Purpose: Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) is the most common cause of nosocomial diarrhea in adult patients and is associated with considerable morbidity and mortality. Apart from the standard treatment regimens, tigecycline has shown significant in vitro activity against C. difficile but data regarding its clinical impact remains controversial.

Spotlight on inhaled ciprofloxacin and its potential in the treatment of non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis.

Non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis (NCFB) is a severe chronic illness characterized by irreversible dilation of airways and thickening of bronchial walls, chronic inflammation, repeated infections, and progressive obstruction of the airways. In contrast to cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis (CFB), which is a well-defined genetic disorder, NCFB is a heterogeneous disease caused by many different medical entities. Inhaled antibiotics are effective for patients with CFB, but their efficacy in NCFB has not been proven.

A Model for Out-of-Hospital Multispecialty Emergency Medicine: Accomplishments and Challenges.

Home care has been traditionally considered as an important type of medical service. "SOS Doctors" is a Greek organization providing out-of-hospital multispecialty emergency medicine services the past 25 years. Its services mainly meet the demands of the elderly and the nonambulatory patients.

Liver cirrhosis-effect on QT interval and cardiac autonomic nervous system activity.

Aim: To examine the impact of liver cirrhosis on QT interval and cardiac autonomic neuropathy (CAN).

Methods: A total of 51 patients with cirrhosis and 51 controls were examined. Standard 12-lead electrocardiogram recordings were obtained and QT as well as corrected QT interval (QTc) and their dispersions (dQT, dQTc) were measured and calculated using a computer-based program.

Cardiac Autonomic Neuropathy Predicts All-Cause and Cardiovascular Mortality in Patients With End-Stage Renal Failure: A 5-Year Prospective Study.

Introduction: Chronic renal disease is associated with increased cardiovascular (CV) mortality. Cardiac autonomic neuropathy (CAN) is predictive of mortality for diseases that affect the autonomic nervous system. We prospectively evaluated the prognostic value of indexes of left ventricular (LV) function and CAN in all-cause and CV mortality of patients with end-stage renal failure (ESRF).