Ventricular Tachycardia Burden and Mortality: Association or Causality?

Ventricular tachycardia (VT) is a potentially fatal cardiac rhythm disorder. Implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) are the primary management strategy for VT and have been shown to reduce the incidence of death but, ICDs do not reduce VT recurrences. Further, mounting evidence indicates that high VT burden, defined as the cumulative number of recurrent VTs or ICD shocks, is associated with an elevated risk of death; however, it is unclear if high VT burden is a cause of death or a marker of severe heart disease.

Combination of Vancomycin and β-Lactam Therapy for Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Bacteremia: A Pilot Multicenter Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: In vitro laboratory and animal studies demonstrate a synergistic role for the combination of vancomycin and antistaphylococcal β-lactams for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteremia. Prospective clinical data are lacking.

Methods: In this open-label, multicenter, clinical trial, adults with MRSA bacteremia received vancomycin 1.

Prevalence of rectocele in young nulliparous women.

Background: It is generally assumed that fascial defects in the rectovaginal septum are the result of childbirth. However, rectoceles do occur in women who have never delivered vaginally.

Aims: To determine the incidence of rectocele in a cohort of asymptomatic, young nulliparous women.

Two-dimensional and three-dimensional ultrasound imaging of suburethral slings.

Objective: Suburethral slings have become the most commonly performed anti-incontinence procedures in many developed countries. Three types of implant account for the majority of such surgery in Australia: tensionless vaginal tape (TVT), suprapubic arc procedure (SPARC) and intravaginal slingplasty (IVS). The aim of this study was to determine differences in position and mobility of these implants, and to determine whether such differences explain variations in clinical outcome.

Treatment of panic disorder with agoraphobia in an anxiety disorders clinic: factors influencing psychiatrists' treatment choices.

The main objective of this report was to identify patient characteristics that led psychiatrists in an academic anxiety disorders clinic to make a decision about intensive treatment of patients with panic disorder with agoraphobia (PDA) with cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) alone, CBT plus a high-potency benzodiazepine (CBT+BZ) or CBT combined with BZ and an antidepressant, fluoxetine (CBT+BZ+AD). On the basis of their clinical judgment and collaborative negotiation with the patient, psychiatrists chose one of the three treatment modalities for 102 PDA outpatients. Two stepwise logistic regressions were performed to explore pre-treatment patient characteristics the psychiatrists may have considered in choosing among these treatments.