Severe sepsis, defined as sepsis associated with acute organ dysfunction, results from a generalized inflammatory and procoagulant response to an infection.¹ The rate of death from severe sepsis ranges from 30 to 50 percent despite advances in critical ...

After several years of treatment with levodopa and other drugs,¹ motor fluctuations ranging from bradykinesia to hyperkinesia develop in many patients with Parkinson's disease. No drug therapy has eliminated these fluctuations. However, the implantation ...

Studies of a possible difference between men and women in the plasma level of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) RNA (the viral load) have had conflicting results. Some cross-sectional¹,² and longitudinal³–⁵ studies have found lower plasma HIV-1 ...

Cadaveric kidney transplantation in eligible patients with end-stage renal disease is associated with longer survival than long-term dialysis.¹ Despite efforts to increase the frequency of renal transplantation in the United States, the inadequate pool of ...

In developed countries, most patients with chronic pancreatitis have a long history of alcohol abuse. Alcohol-induced chronic pancreatitis is characterized by recurrent attacks of abdominal pain, irregular dilatation of the pancreatic duct with stone ...

Figure 1. A 27-year-old woman was hospitalized during her first pregnancy because of preeclampsia at 38 weeks of gestation. Her blood pressure was 160/100 mm Hg, and she had ankle edema and proteinuria. Oliguria soon developed, and a cesarean section was ...

Interventional pulmonology is a new field within pulmonary medicine focused on the use of advanced bronchoscopic and pleuroscopic techniques for the treatment of a spectrum of thoracic disorders ranging from tracheobronchial stenosis to pleural effusions ...

Presentation of Case

A 10-week-old boy was evaluated at Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary because of progressive swelling in the region of the right side of the upper lip of two weeks' duration.

The boy had been born at full term and had had no ...

In the last half of the 20th century, the use of antibiotics for the treatment of bacterial infections transformed the practice of medicine, resulting in sharp reductions in morbidity and mortality from acute and chronic infections. However, mortality has ...

New therapies require rigorous evaluation before they become part of routine clinical care. The process of evaluating new drugs and devices is well established. When a new approach to treatment is ready for human trials, a phase 1 study is conducted with ...

Parkinson's disease is characterized by the progressive loss of dopamine neurons in the substantia nigra of the midbrain. These neurons project widely throughout the cerebral hemispheres, but the motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease — bradykinesia, ...

After a few years of success in controlling the costs of health care, the United States once again faces the challenge of what, if anything, to do about skyrocketing health care expenditures. Dealing with this challenge, which dominated the health policy ...

To the Editor: We congratulate Valenzuela et al. and Page et al. (Oct. 26 issue) on their studies of defibrillation in casinos¹ and airplanes.² The advantage of immediate diagnosis and treatment is certain. However, the authors missed the opportunity to ...

To the Editor: We concur with Krause et al. (Nov. 16 issue)¹ that the combination of azithromycin and atovaquone is effective for the treatment of babesiosis. We have been using atovaquone and azithromycin as an alternative treatment for babesiosis since ...

To the Editor: In their article on the appropriateness of coronary angiography after myocardial infarction among Medicare beneficiaries (Nov. 16 issue),¹ Guadagnoli et al. fail to acknowledge several important limitations of their study. First, the data ...

To the Editor: In response to Tefferi's excellent review of myelofibrosis (April 27 issue),¹ Guardiola and colleagues have provided the results of allogeneic stem-cell transplantation in their patients with myelofibrosis (Aug. 31 issue).² The authors ...

To the Editor: In the United States, the most common method for diagnosing prostate cancer is a transrectal ultrasound-guided needle biopsy of the prostate gland. However, the positive predictive value of this method is only 18 percent.¹ We used a real-...

The 21st century has begun with an overwhelming outpouring of advances in molecular biology and genetics, and the medical profession has only started to wrestle with the many social and moral questions posed by the startling progress in these fields. ...

The experience of illness and the intimate world shared by doctors and their patients have inspired a large body of literature by authors from widely varied backgrounds. In “A Doctor's Visit,” Anton Chekhov, one of history's more notable physician authors,...

Fetal Medicine: Basic Science and Clinical Practice is a pioneering textbook that captures the remarkable revolution in the field of fetal medicine. Written by authors from around the world, it combines basic knowledge and practical application and will ...

Case 23-2000: Osteomyelitis in HIV-Infected Patients Correspondence, N Engl J Med 2001:344;66-67.. On page 67, the legend for Figure 1 should have stated that the arrow in Panel B points to the left talus, not the left scaphoid bone, as printed.

Book Review of PC, M.D.: How Political Correctness Is Corrupting Medicine Book Review, N Engl J Med 2001:344;462.. Through an editing error, Dr. Fox's degree was given as M.D. rather than Ph.D. We regret the error.