Electronic Prompts Can Reduce The Number Of Unnecessary Clotting Screens Ordered For Patients.

In an attempt to reduce the number of inappropriate clotting screens being performed in our Trust, an electronic prompt was introduced to our haematology requesting system. Over the six month period after introduction of this prompt the number of clotting screen requests reduced by 7001, representing a 21% reduction when compared to the same 6 month period one year earlier. This represented a cost saving of over £98,000 without any increase in adverse incidents being reported related to bleeding complications.

Streptococcus oralis endocarditis presenting as infective discitis in an edentulous patient.

We present an interesting case of Streptococcus oralis endocarditis, presenting with infective discitis, in an edentulous patient with no underlying structural valvular heart disease and no clinical features to suggest infective endocarditis. It illustrates that S. oralis endocarditis can occur in edentulous patients (with no signs of oral sepsis), without any systemic stigmata of endocarditis and manifest with infection at remote sites, in this case, infective discitis. The diagnosis would also undoubtedly have been missed if preemptive antibiotic therapy had been given.