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Acinetobacter infections are highly prevalent in the ICU, with medical patients being more susceptible to lung infections, particularly late-onset VAP. The early and appropriate selection of antibiotics is the most important determinant of survival among these patients.

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Background:Neurocysticercosis (NCC) is a common cause of epilepsy in developing countries. In order to plan and implement prevention programs, it is essential to study the awareness of NCC.Objective:To study the awareness of NCC among patients with NCC and compare with age- and gender-matched controls without NCC.Setting and Design:Hospital based case–control study.Materials and Methods:Two hundred and fourteen subjects were studied (109 NCC patients, and 105 age- and gender-matched controls without NCC). The participants were selected from neurology and medical wards of a tertiary referral hospital in northwest India. They were interviewed by trained medical interns using a questionnaire.Results:64.2% of the NCC patients and 19% of control group had heard about NCC (P < 0.001). Knowledge regarding organ affected by NCC in the NCC group was 61.4% and in the control group was 80% (P = 0.09). Only 12.9% of the NCC group and none in the control group identified tape worm as a causative agent for NCC (P = 0.092). Negative effects of NCC on marriage and social life were more often cited by the NCC group but in the control group it was towards education (P = 0.004).Conclusions:The awareness of NCC was poor in both the groups. Educational programs are needed to improve the awareness about NCC among the patients and the public.

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Lower incidence of vascular events following small artery ischemic stroke Small artery infarction, which is particularly prevalent among Asians (1), carries a lower risk of recurrent stroke at one-month compared with other stroke subtypes, but long-term findings are inconsistent (2,3). Data on subsequent myocardial infarction risk after small artery stroke are limited. We compared the incidence of vascular events following ischemic stroke due to small artery disease vs. other etiologies among prospectively recruited Asian patients admitted to the Singapore General Hospital from 2005 to 2007. Telephone follow᎑up at a median of 30 months (IQR 24-34) masked to clinical information was obtained for 89% of the cohort. Among the 731 patients with known stroke etiology, 49% had small artery infarction, 38% had large artery infarction, 12% had cardioembolic, and 1% had other etiology. Figure 1 shows the cumulative incidence of subsequent vascular events. Using Cox regression adjusted for age, gender, hypertension, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, smoking, and atrial fibrillation, small artery infarction was associated with a lower incidence of recurrent stroke [hazard ratio (HR) 0•62; P = 0•047], myocardial infarction (HR 0•45; P = 0•031), vascular death (HR 0•18; P = 0•002), and composite vascular events (HR 0•59, P = 0•007) compared with nonsmall artery stroke. The lower risk of subsequent vascular events following small artery infarction may be explained by a differing underlying pathology from large artery and

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