Predicting MRSA Risk; Are Mood Stabilizers Safe for Pregnant Women?; Lung Disease? Watch for Treatable Heart Disease, Too

A negative nares screening may not be the best predictor of which patient is at risk for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infection (MRSA). But combining that screen with certain risk factors can help pinpoint with nearly 100% accuracy, say researchers from University Hospitals Case Medical Center, Case Western Reserve University, and Cleveland Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC), all in Cleveland, Ohio. Their prediction rule, tested in patients at the Cleveland VAMC, could potentially reduce overuse of empirical vancomycin without missing any patients with MRSA infection, they say.