Hospitalists’ COVID-19 management roles in hospitals without infectious disease specialists

Hospitalists may work in a variety of clinical settings to manage COVID-19 cases. However, the extent of their involvement in COVID-19 care is unknown, particularly in hospitals without infectious disease (ID) specialists. This study aimed to confirm whether hospitalists provided COVID-19 management in various clinical settings when ID specialists were unavailable. We conducted a multicenter cross-sectional study using a web-based questionnaire. The participants were full-time hospitalists working in Japanese academic community-based hospitals. The study period was from 15 January 2021 to 15 February 2021, during Japan’s third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. The primary outcome was the rate of hospitalists participating in COVID-19 inpatient management in hospitals with or without ID specialists. ID specialists were absent in 31% of small hospitals (those with fewer than 249 registered beds), but only 4% of large hospitals (p p = 0.01) and 90 versus 73% (p = 0.01), respectively). After adjusting for confounders by multivariate analysis, hospitalists who worked in hospitals without ID specialists had higher odds of participating in COVID-19 inpatient care than those who worked in hospitals with such specialists (adjusted odds ratio: 3.0, 95% CI: 1.2–7.4). Hospitalists were more likely to provide COVID-19 inpatient care in various clinical settings in hospitals without ID specialists.</p

On the fence: Combining multimodal imaging and laparoscopy for diagnosing tuberculous peritonitis

Tuberculous peritonitis (TB peritonitis) is one of the most challenging forms of extrapulmonary TB to diagnose. While tumor markers can be elevated in patients with TB peritonitis, FDG-PET/CT can aid in distinguishing TB peritonitis from malignancies, if an apron-like omentum pattern is seen. Laparoscopy is crucial for accurate and early diagnosis