Antimicrobial prophylaxis in surgery: an international survey.

Background: We investigated current clinical practice of antimicrobial prophylaxis (AMP) in surgery.

Methods: Survey administration of AMP to patients without co-morbidity or allergy undergoing surgery, among surgeons indexed as corresponding authors for articles published in general surgery, orthopedics, gynecology, and cardiac surgery journals.

Results: A total of 1,068 surgeons answered (response rate 68%).

Lost in translation: differences in antimicrobial indication approval policies between the United States and Europe.

Objective: Antimicrobials, like all drug products, are approved in the United States through the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and in the European Union partly through the European Medicines Agency (EMEA). This article investigates the differences in approved indications between these 2 bodies for a series of antimicrobial agents approved during the past decade.

Methods: The antimicrobial compounds most recently approved for specific indications by both the FDA and EMEA were included in the study.

Massive haemorrhage due to minimally displaced pubic ramus fracture.

Fractures of the pubic ramus are commonly seen in the emergency room, but they are thought to be minor injuries. Occasionally, these fractures might be associated with massive haemorrhage. Here we report a case of bilateral obturator artery damage due to minimal displaced pubic ramus fracture.

Impact of patient position on the incidence of ventilator-associated pneumonia: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Objective: The aim of this study is to summarize the effect of position (prone and semirecumbent 45 degrees ) of mechanically ventilated patients on the incidence of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) and other outcomes.

Methods: A systematic search for randomized control trials (RCTs) was done. We estimated pooled odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) using fixed effects model or random effects model, where appropriate.

At what age do biomedical scientists do their best work?

Several human characteristics that influence scientific research performance, including set goals, mental and physical abilities, education, and experience, may vary considerably during the life cycle of scientists. We sought to answer the question of whether high-quality research productivity is associated with investigator's age. We randomly selected 300 highly cited scientists (50 from each of 6 different biomedical fields, specifically immunology, microbiology, neuroscience, psychology-psychiatry, clinical medicine, and biology-biochemistry).