Background: Urinary catheters, vascular catheters, and wounds such as pressure injuries are often hidden from view under gowns and sheets – out of sight, out of mind – contributing to prolonged catheter use, infections, delayed interventions, and diagnostic errors for symptoms (e.g., fever, delirium) related to catheters and wounds. We developed and pilot tested a […]

Background: Skin, soft tissue, and joint infections are common in pediatric patients and can require invasive procedures to drain purulent fluid. Atypical pathogens (fungal and acid-fast bacilli [AFB]) are important but rare causes of these infections with reported case rates as low as 0.6-1.6 cases/100,000 a year. Despite the rarity of these infections, costly atypical […]

Background: Digital bedside information displays can alert clinicians about patient safety hazards, but the unintended consequences of these interventions are not well understood. Introducing new digital interventions may have implications for clinician satisfaction with the electronic environment, clinical team communication, and patient-centered care. Toward greater understanding of these unintended consequences, we described the content, form, […]

Background: Clostridium difficile infections (CDI) is the most common cause of healthcare-associated infections in the United States. CDI accounts for 15%- 25% of all cases of nosocomial diarrhea. CDI is associated with significant adverse outcomes such as higher inpatient mortality rate, a longer length of hospital stays and increased hospital costs. The incidence of Hospital-acquired […]

Case Presentation: A 12-year-old healthy female presented for three weeks of abdominal pain, loose non-bloody stools accompanied by night sweats and an eight-pound weight loss. Initial exam was only significant for diffuse abdominal pain. An abdominal X-ray demonstrated a unique appearing paravertebral stripe which prompted a follow up MRI abdomen/pelvis. MRI imaging revealed a 5.8 […]

Case Presentation: 73 year-old Eritrean woman presented with one-month history of non-healing foot wound. While visiting Eritrea, she developed right foot edema, leading to splitting of the skin on the dorsal foot. This developed into a wound requiring hospitalization, debridement, and two week antibiotic course with ampicillin and ciprofloxacin in an Eritrean hospital. No organism […]

Case Presentation: A 65-year-old male with a past medical history significant for hypertension initially presented with episodes of double vision, fatigue and dysphagia. Physical exam was remarkable for right-sided ptosis which improved with the ice pack test. Serology was positive for anti-acetylcholine receptor antibodies. Further workup revealed a decremental response to slow (2Hz) repetitive nerve […]

Case Presentation: A 61 year old female with Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (COPD) on inhaled steroids underwent left lower lobectomy for Stage 1 Lung Adenocarcinoma in August 2017. While recovering, her house was flooded by Hurricane Harvey, in Houston, Texas. She was directly exposed to flood waters and subsequently lived with mold in her home. […]

Case Presentation: A 69-year old male with past medical history significant for granulomatosis with polyangiitis and lower extremity deep vein thrombosis (DVT) presented with worsening pain, swelling and erythema of his right lower extremity. He reported exposure to stagnant rainwater in his yard a day prior to admission. Hours after the exposure he developed fever […]

Case Presentation: A 66-year-old Caucasian man presented to his primary care physician with significant fatigue and night sweats associated with 30-pound weight loss, headaches, and dyspnea on exertion. He reported the onset of symptoms one week after returning from a hunting trip in Georgia where he caught and cleaned wild boar. After this initial outpatient […]