A randomized trial comparing a very low carbohydrate diet and a calorie-restricted low fat diet on body weight and cardiovascular risk factors in healthy women.

Untested alternative weight loss diets, such as very low carbohydrate diets, have unsubstantiated efficacy and the potential to adversely affect cardiovascular risk factors. Therefore, we designed a randomized, controlled trial to determine the effects of a very low carbohydrate diet on body composition and cardiovascular risk factors. Subjects were randomized to 6 months of either an ad libitum very low carbohydrate diet or a calorie-restricted diet with 30% of the calories as fat.

Tumor necrosis factor-alpha, interleukin-1 beta, and interleukin-6 levels in febrile, young children with and without occult bacteremia.

Objective: To determine the utility of plasma levels of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF), interleukin 1 beta (IL-1), and interleukin 6 (IL-6) in the prediction of occult bacteremia in febrile, young children.

Study Design: Prospective, case-control study conducted in a large, urban, children's hospital emergency department. Eligibility criteria were: 0 to 36 months of age, febrile, nontoxic appearing, immunocompetent, no apparent bacterial source for fever on physical examination, and blood culture obtained.

Nefazodone-induced liver failure: report of three cases.

Background: Liver failure is a rare but devastating result of drug toxicity.

Objective: To describe three cases of subfulminant liver failure that were probably caused by nefazodone, a new antidepressant that is a synthetically derived phenylpiperazine.

Design: Case series.

Description and evaluation of a program for the early discharge of infants from a neonatal intensive care unit.

The effect of a cost-containment program focused on decreasing the lengths of hospital stay of high-risk neonates was assessed by comparison of discharge weights and lengths of stay for 257 study infants, discharged from a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) after an early-discharge program began, with those of 477 control infants discharged during a prior 1-year period. Demographic data and costs, as well as data on emergency department use and hospital readmissions, were included in the comparisons. There was a significant decrease in mean discharge weight and length of stay for infants in the study group.