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Evaluation and management of acute lower gastrointestinal bleeding focus on etiologies originating distally to the ligament of Treitz. Diverticular disease is the most common source, accounting for 40% of cases. Hemorrhoids, angiodysplasia, infectious colitis, and inflammatory bowel disease are other common sources. Initial evaluation should focus on obtaining the patient's history and performing a physical examination, including evaluation of hemodynamic status. Subsequent evaluation should be based on the suspected etiology. Most patients should undergo colonoscopy for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes once they are hemodynamically stable and have completed adequate bowel preparation. Early colonoscopy has not demonstrated improved patient-oriented outcomes. Hemodynamic stabilization using normal saline or balanced crystalloids improves mortality in critically ill patients. For persistently unstable patients or those who cannot tolerate bowel preparation, abdominal computed tomographic angiography should be considered for localization of a bleeding source. Technetium Tc 99m-labeled red blood cell scintigraphy should not be routinely used in the evaluation of lower gastrointestinal bleeding. Surgical intervention should be considered only for patients with uncontrolled severe bleeding or multiple ineffective nonsurgical treatment attempts. Percutaneous catheter embolization should be considered for patients who are poor surgical candidates. Treatment is based on the identified source of bleeding.Primary pulmonary coccidioidomycosis (valley fever) is caused by inhaling airborne spores of the fungus Coccidioides immitis or Coccidioides posadasii. Residing in or traveling to areas endemic for Coccidioides is required for the diagnosis; no person-to-person or zoonotic contagion occurs. The incidence of coccidioidomycosis is increasing in endemic areas, and it has been identified as the cause of as many as 17% to 29% of all cases of community-acquired pneumonia in some regions. Obtaining a travel history is recommended when evaluating patients with community-acquired pneumonia. Diagnosis usually relies on enzyme immunoassay with immunodiffusion confirmation, but these tests may not be positive for one to three weeks after disease onset. Antifungal agents are not recommended for treatment unless the patient is at risk of or shows signs of complicated or disseminated infection. When antifungals are used, fluconazole and itraconazole are most commonly recommended, except during pregnancy. Treatment may continue for as long as three to 12 months, although lifetime treatment is indicated for patients with coccidioidal meningitis. Monitoring of complement fixation titers and chest radiography is recommended until patients stabilize and symptoms resolve. In patients who are treated with antifungals, complement fixation titers should be followed for at least two years.Cerebral palsy, which occurs in two to three out of 1,000 live births, has multiple etiologies resulting in brain injury that affects movement, posture, and balance. The movement disorders associated with cerebral palsy are categorized as spasticity, dyskinesia, ataxia, or mixed/other. Spasticity is the most common movement disorder, occurring in 80% of children with cerebral palsy. Movement disorders of cerebral palsy can result in secondary problems, including hip pain or dislocation, balance problems, hand dysfunction, and equinus deformity. Diagnosis of cerebral palsy is primarily clinical, but magnetic resonance imaging can be helpful to confirm brain injury if there is no clear cause for the patient's symptoms. Once cerebral palsy has been diagnosed, an instrument such as the Gross Motor Function Classification System can be used to evaluate severity and treatment response. Treatments for the movement disorders associated with cerebral palsy include intramuscular onabotulinumtoxinA, systemic and intrathecal muscle relaxants, selective dorsal rhizotomy, and physical and occupational therapies. Patients with cerebral palsy often also experience problems unrelated to movement that need to be managed into adulthood, including cognitive dysfunction, seizures, pressure ulcers, osteoporosis, behavioral or emotional problems, and speech and hearing impairment.BACKGROUND An outbreak of listeriosis was identified in South Africa in 2017. The source was unknown. METHODS We conducted epidemiologic, trace-back, and environmental investigations and used whole-genome sequencing to type Listeria monocytogenes isolates. A case was defined as laboratory-confirmed L. monocytogenes infection during the period from June 11, 2017, to April 7, 2018. RESULTS A total of 937 cases were identified, of which 465 (50%) were associated with pregnancy; 406 of the pregnancy-associated cases (87%) occurred in neonates. Of the 937 cases, 229 (24%) occurred in patients 15 to 49 years of age (excluding those who were pregnant). Among the patients in whom human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) status was known, 38% of those with pregnancy-associated cases (77 of 204) and 46% of the remaining patients (97 of 211) were infected with HIV. this website Among 728 patients with a known outcome, 193 (27%) died. Clinical isolates from 609 patients were sequenced, and 567 (93%) were identified as sequence type 6 (ST6) to the identification of the source. Copyright © 2020 Massachusetts Medical Society.BACKGROUND More effective and safer treatments are needed for antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis. METHODS We conducted a randomized trial with a 2-by-2 factorial design to evaluate the use of plasma exchange and two regimens of oral glucocorticoids in patients with severe ANCA-associated vasculitis (defined by an estimated glomerular filtration rate of less then 50 ml per minute per 1.73 m2 of body-surface area or diffuse pulmonary hemorrhage). Patients were randomly assigned to undergo plasma exchange (seven plasma exchanges within 14 days after randomization) or no plasma exchange (control group). Patients were also randomly assigned to follow either a standard-dose regimen or a reduced-dose regimen of oral glucocorticoids. Patients were followed for up to 7 years for the primary composite outcome of death from any cause or end-stage kidney disease (ESKD). RESULTS Death from any cause or ESKD occurred in 100 of 352 patients (28.4%) in the plasma-exchange group and in 109 of 352 patients (31.