Improving outcomes of coronary artery bypass graft infections with multiple interventions: putting science and data to the test.

In 2001, 7.58% of our coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) patients developed surgical-site infection (SSI) as compared with 3.57% in National Nosocomial Infections Surveillance System hospitals from January 1992 to June 2001.

Cost-effective treatment of women with advanced ovarian cancer by cytoreductive surgery and chemotherapy directed by an in vitro assay for drug resistance.

Purpose: Epithelial ovarian cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer-related death in women. Five-year survival is about 25%, and new approaches to the treatment of this disease are dearly warranted. This study was designed to determine the feasibility of using an in vitro assay for drug resistance to guide treatment after cytoreductive surgery.

Gunshot cholecystitis.

A 15-year-old boy developed traumatic cholecystitis from a BB shot that lodged in his gallbladder. This is an unusual cause of gallbladder disease, and we review the literature.

The transoral approach to the cervical spine.

The transoral surgical approach is useful for operating on structures at the base of the brain and the upper cervical spinal cord. For example, this route has been used for resecting spinal tumors and clipping vertebrobasilar aneurysms. In the past, this surgical approach was not advocated due to concerns about exposure and infection.

A comparison of three methods of managing fever in the neurologic patient.

Patients with neurological dysfunction can suffer fevers due to irritation of, or damage to the temperature-regulating center in the brain, or a combination of both. Although hypothermic therapy is a critical treatment nurses often perform, the most effective cooling method has not been studied in the neurological patient. The purpose of this quasi-experimental study was to compare the effectiveness of three methods of fever reduction, and the effect of each on patient shivering.