Get up to speed on skin failure
Experts' understanding of pressure injuries has changed, and recent thinking highlights the importance of hospitalist involvement.
Pressure injuries
Knowing whether a pressure injury was present on admission is key to documentation.
Updated guidelines advise managing sedation, mobilization, sleep in ICU
The Society of Critical Care Medicine now suggests dexmedetomidine over propofol for sedation and melatonin for improved sleep, among other changes in a focused update.
Studies assess effects of cardiac rehab, PT, OT on later health care use
Patients who participated in at least 12 sessions of cardiac rehabilitation had fewer subsequent hospitalizations, one study found, while another showed that more time in physical (PT) or occupational therapy (OT) during hospitalization didn't reduce postacute care.
Research Summaries | March 5, 2025 | FREE
Most ACP Hospitalist content is available exclusively to ACP Members. This article is free to the public.
Risk score accurately predicts major bleeding risk in COVID-19 patients, study finds
A bleeding risk score had an area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve of 0.84 when predicting major bleeding risk in hospitalized COVID-19 patients 90 days after admission, a study of 3,886 patients in China found.
New guidance issued on acute coronary syndromes
The updated recommendations from the American College of Cardiology, the American Heart Association, and other professional societies focus on management of unstable angina and myocardial infarction.
Take a quiz about the Feb. 26 issue!
Every week, ACP Hospitalist posts a question about the previous week's issue. See how well you remember what you've read compared to other readers.
From ‘unbefriended’ to ‘unrepresented’
The American Geriatrics Society updated its position statement on older adults who lack medical decisional capacity, an advance directive, and a surrogate decision-maker. Two of the authors discuss putting the advice into practice.
Cutting down on recurring care
An optional order set helped hospitalists reduce unnecessary repetitive care for medically stable patients.
Lactated Ringer's as initial fluid associated with lower sepsis mortality versus saline
The 90-day morality rate was 12.2% in sepsis patients with hypotension who received lactated Ringer's solution as their initial resuscitation fluid, compared to 15.9% in those who got 0.9% saline, a secondary analysis of a trial found.
Noninvasive ventilation reduced post-cardiac surgery complications in high-risk patients
High-risk patients who were randomized to noninvasive ventilation for five days before and five days after cardiac surgery instead of usual care had significantly lower rates of cardiorespiratory failure at one month and three months after surgery, a single-center French trial found.
Treatment pathway in the ED reduced admissions for atrial fibrillation
The pathway stratified patients presenting to the ED with atrial fibrillation (AF) as low, moderate, or high risk, based on comorbid conditions, hemodynamic stability, and severity of AF symptoms. For low- and moderate-risk patients, ED discharge and outpatient follow-up was considered.
Existing tool helps predict mortality in hospitalized patients with cancer
Patients with a score below 40 on the End-of-life Index had a six-month mortality rate of 16.3% versus 45.9% among those whose score was 40 or higher, a retrospective study at one hospital found.
On the threshold
Although restricting blood transfusions to patients with lower hemoglobin thresholds has become the rule, there are some important exceptions.
Newman's Notions | February 19, 2025 | FREE
Most ACP Hospitalist content is available exclusively to ACP Members. This article is free to the public.
Hammer and nails
Will AI be for hospitalists what the steam drill was for John Henry?
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