Background: The projected role of hand‐carried ultrasound echocardiography (HCUE) is not to replace state‐of‐the‐art standard echocardiography (SE) but instead to precede and, in some cases, obviate it with simple and routine assessments by frontline physicians. This seems possible because in the hands of noncardiologists who have undergone brief training programs, HCUE is accurate for the [...]

Background: The duration of rotations for medicine ward attending physicians has declined. Whereas monthlong ward rotations had been common, 2‐week rotations are now the norm. One driver for this change is the perception that shorter rotations improve ward attending physicians’ work‐life balance. Yet the psychological impact of the duration of inpatient rotations is unknown. Nor [...]

Background: Despite fewer general internists performing central venous catheter (CVC) insertion, lumbar puncture, paracentesis, and thoracentesis, the demand for these procedures has not dropped. Because hospitalists are charged with the responsibility of coordinating inpatient care, they may be best equipped to ensure timely access to these procedures, particularly because roughly half of bedside procedures performed [...]

Background: Syncope accounts for 1%–2% of ED visits. History, physical exam, and ECG establish the etiology of syncope about 50% of the time, but many patients are admitted for observation and telemetry monitoring seeking evidence of arrhythmias. The objectives of this study were to determine (1) the diagnostic yield of telemetry monitoring in unexplained syncope [...]

Background: Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a common presenting problem accounting for 1% hospital admission and also a major complication developing during in‐hospital stay for other reasons. Rapid identification and treatment of reversible causes of renal failure may improve patient outcome, reducing hospital and ICU stays and preventing progression to established renal failure. Traditionally fractional [...]

Background: Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE) impose a major public health burden in the United States, affecting an estimated 350,000–600,000 individuals and accounting for approximately 100,000 deaths in the United States each year. Hospitalization is a major risk factor for DVT/PE, with a 10‐fold increased risk for venous thromboembolism (VTE) among hospitalized [...]

Background: Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE) impose a major public health burden, affecting up to 600,000 individuals and accounting for approximately 100,000 deaths in the United States each year. There is a 10‐fold increased risk for DVT/PE among hospitalized patients and up to a 6‐fold increased risk for DVT/PE among oncology patients. [...]

Background: Physicians trained in family medicine represent a growing population of hospitalists in the United States. Based on the 2007–2008 Society of Hospital Medicine (SHM) annual survey, hospitalists trained in family medicine made up 3.7% of U.S. hospitalists. However, 2010 SHM membership data report 6.9% of SHM physicians are trained in family medicine. Despite this [...]

Background: Believed related to oxidative stress, the long‐term effects of glycemic variability (GV) are associated with progression of microvascular complications in diabetics. Short‐term effects on increased mortality have been shown in nondiabetic, critically ill patients. The severity of sepsis correlates with hyperglycemia and severe hypoglycemia. Hypoglycemia is more common in diabetics with increased GV, suggesting [...]

Background: Initial treatment of heart failure is empiric and requires frequent monitoring and medication adjustment. Predicting which patients require more intensive treatment may improve outcomes and decrease hospital length of stay. Cystatin C, a novel marker for renal function, has been studied for its prognostic value in heart failure but not in predicting treatment response. [...]