Background Patient empowerment is recognized as an important component of a multimodal strategy to improve hand hygiene adherence. We examined the attitudes of adult patients and parents of pediatric patients towards a new patient empowerment tool (PET) at our hospital. We also surveyed physicians to determine their perceptions about the PET. Methods A cross-sectional survey was performed of hospitalized children’s parents and adult patients in a 531 bed tertiary care teaching hospital in West Virginia. Surveys were anonymous and self-administered. A separate survey was administered via e-mail to resident and attending physicians from the Departments of Internal Medicine, Pediatrics, and Family Medicine. Results Most parents and adult patients felt it was their role to speak up if a provider did not perform hand hygiene, but a smaller number actually felt comfortable using the PET. Only 54.9% of physicians felt that patients should be involved in reminding providers to perform hand hygiene. Overall, physicians indicated that they would prefer a patient to use words rather than the PET to remind them to perform hand hygiene. Conclusions In our study, parents and adult patients supported use of the PET, but physicians were less supportive. As the patient empowerment movement grows, we should work to improve physician acceptance of patient involvement if it is to be successful.
Salmonella is known to cause invasive illness. However, head and neck abscesses are an unusual presentation of extra-intestinal infection with this organism. We describe a case of Salmonella neck abscess in a diabetic patient. An 18 year old diabetic male was admitted with increasing left sided neck pain and swelling approximately four weeks after gastrointestinal illness. Imaging revealed a left sided neck abscess. Surgical drainage was undertaken. Cultures grew non-typhoid Salmonella species. He was treated with intravenous antibiotics and did well clinically. Salmonella infection should be considered in the differential diagnosis of patients with immunocompromising conditions presenting with neck abscess of unclear etiology.
Enteroviruses are RNA viruses within the Picornaviridae family. Enteroviruses derive their name from the way they are typically transmitted via the intestinal tract. They commonly infect millions of people every year and often do not cause severe disease in immunocompetent patients with few exceptions. Aseptic meningitis is a classic manifestation and is usually self-limited, however, can lead to severe neurological complications in an immunocompromised individual. It has been well-described that patients with hypogammaglobulinemia are predisposed to developing chronic enteroviral meningoencephalitis [ 1 ]. This is the first reported case of enteroviral meningoencephalitis in a patient being treated for psoriatic arthritis with rituximab. Here we describe a 46-year-old female who presented with altered mental status, fever, and myalgia. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) of her cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) confirmed the presence of enterovirus. In the immunocompromised patient with encephalopathy, it is important to consider an enteroviral infection. This case adds to the present body of knowledge about enteroviral infections in immunocompromised hosts.
Pyometra is an unusual presentation of uterine infection, this condition is characterized by purulent fluid within the uterine cavity. In this report we describe pyometra due to Pseudomonas aeruginosa in a 90-year-old woman who presented with abdominal pain, nausea with emesis and diarrhea. She was evaluated at an outside emergency department and computed tomography (CT) revealed a large, complex, cystic mass measuring 9.2 cm (cm) in greatest diameter. Given her age, the diagnosis of malignancy was entertained. She was referred to gynecologic-oncology service for evaluation and underwent exploratory laparotomy with total abdominal hysterectomy and lysis of adhesions. Intraoperative findings were consistent with pyometra. Cultures ultimately grew Pseudomonas aeruginosa . She initiated on antibacterial therapy and was discharged to a rehabilitation facility.
Scimitar syndrome is a rare congenital anomaly characterized by partial anomalous pulmonary venous drainage of the right lung to the inferior vena cava (IVC) creating a tubular opacity paralleling the right cardiac border on chest radiography which resembles a curved Turkish sword or scimitar. Associated pulmonary and vascular anomalies have been reported in cases of Scimitar syndrome, most commonly hypoplasia of right lung, dextroposition of the heart, hypoplasia of the right pulmonary artery, and aberrant arterial supply from the descending aorta to the affected lobe of the right lung. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case of Scimitar syndrome with an H-type tracheoesophageal fistula that has ever been reported.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.