Nita Shrikant Kulkarni, MD
News
Interdisciplinary Team Interventions Have Little Impact on Traditional Quality Measures
October 5, 2015
Clinical question: Do interdisciplinary team care interventions affect outcomes for hospitalized patients in general medical wards? Bottom line: Interdisciplinary team care interventions do not significantly affect oft-used quality measures such as length of stay, readmissions, or mortality.
News
Increased Mortality With Perioperative Beta-Blockade in Low-Risk Patients Undergoing Noncardiac Surgery
September 3, 2015
Clinical question: Does the use of perioperative beta-blockers affect the outcomes in patients undergoing noncardiac surgery? Bottom line: Determining the presence or absence of cardiac risk factors is important when deciding whether to use beta-blockers during the perioperative period for patien
News
Wells Score Not Helpful in Hospitalized Patients With Suspected DVT
September 3, 2015
Clinical question: How useful is the Wells score for risk-stratifying hospitalized patients with suspected deep vein thrombosis? Bottom line: The Wells score is not helpful in the inpatient setting to predict the presence or absence of deep vein thrombosis (DVT).
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High-Flow Oxygen Therapy No Worse Than Noninvasive Ventilation, May Reduce Mortality
July 21, 2015
Clinical question: Does high-flow oxygen therapy result in a decreased rate of intubation for patients with nonhypercapnic acute hypoxemic respiratory failure? Bottom line: In this underpowered study, the use of high-flow oxygen therapy did not significantly reduce the rate of intubation as compa
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Patient Navigators Reduce Readmission Rates for High-Risk Older Patients
July 21, 2015
Clinical question: Does the use of a patient navigator to guide hospitalized patients through the health care system reduce 30-day readmission rates? Bottom line: The use of a community health worker acting as a patient navigator (PN), both during hospitalization and after discharge, to assist pa
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Avoid Trimethoprim-Sulfamethoxazole for Severe MRSA Infections
July 9, 2015
Clinical question: Is trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole equivalent to vancomycin for the treatment of severe infections caused by methicillin-resistant Staphyloccus aureus? Bottom line: Trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMX) did not achieve noninferiority as compared with vancomycin for the treatmen
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No Advantage to Routine Thrombectomy Prior to Percutaneous Coronary Intervention for STEMI
June 3, 2015
Clinical question: Does the use of routine thrombectomy for patients presenting with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction improve outcomes? Bottom line: For patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), the rout
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Temporary IVC Filter Added to Anticoagulation Does Not Decrease Pulmonary Embolism Recurrence Risk
June 3, 2015
Clinical question: Does the insertion of a retrievable inferior vena cava filter in addition to anticoagulation prevent the recurrence of pulmonary embolism in high-risk patients? Bottom line: For patients with pulmonary embolism (PE) who are at high risk of recurrence or who have poor cardiopulm
News
Restrictive Transfusion Strategy No Benefit for Cardiac Surgery Patients
May 4, 2015
Clinical question: Does a restrictive transfusion strategy improve outcomes following nonemergent cardiac surgery? Bottom line: For patients undergoing cardiac surgery, using a restrictive transfusion strategy with a hemoglobin threshold of 7.5 g/dL does not decrease serious infections or ischemi
News
Endovascular Treatment for Acute Ischemic Stroke Decreases Mortality
May 4, 2015
Clinical question: Does endovascular treatment improve outcomes for patients with acute ischemic stroke? Bottom line: For patients with acute ischemic stroke and imaging that suggests a proximal artery occlusion with evidence of good collateral circulation, the use of rapid endovascular treatment