Cost and incidence of social comorbidities in low-risk patients with community-acquired pneumonia admitted to a public hospital.

Context: There are up to 1 million patients treated in acute-care hospitals for community-acquired pneumonia (CAP), with an estimated annual cost > 8 billion dollars. A newly validated CAP outcomes prediction rule developed by Fine and colleagues has been advocated as a guide to hospitalization decisions.

Objective: To evaluate the clinical characteristics, costs of care, and resource utilization of patients with low-risk CAP at an urban public hospital serving an indigent population.

The etiology of community-acquired pneumonia at an urban public hospital: influence of human immunodeficiency virus infection and initial severity of illness.

In a prospective study, the etiology of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) was investigated among consecutive patients admitted to an academic, urban public hospital in Seattle. The study population was uniquely young, was predominantly male, and had high rates of homelessness, cigarette smoking, alcoholism, injection drug use, and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. Leading causes of CAP among HIV-negative patients were aspiration, followed by Streptococcus pneumoniae, Legionella species, and Mycoplasma pneumoniae.

Surgical management of lung gangrene.

Objective: To review the outcomes of five cases of pulmonary resection for lung gangrene.

Design: A retrospective chart review.

Setting: A tertiary referral centre.

Nasogastric and feeding tubes.

Preview The authors' experience in a radiology department suggested to them that there is a wide range of beliefs among practitioners regarding proper placement of nasogastric and feeding tubes. Improper positioning can cause serious problems, as they explain. Indications for different tube positions, complications of incorrect tube placement, and directions for proper positioning are discussed and illustrated.

Nasogastric and feeding tubes. The importance of proper placement.

The authors' experience in a radiology department suggested to them that there is a wide range of beliefs among practitioners regarding proper placement of nasogastric and feeding tubes. Improper positioning can cause serious problems, as they explain. Indications for different tube positions, complications of incorrect tube placement, and directions for proper positioning are discussed and illustrated.