Browse Cardiology Articles by Topic

Yoga for Lumbago?

A review of randomized, controlled trials of treatments for chronic non-specific, low back pain revealed that yoga provides improvements in back-related function compared to non-exercise controls at intermediate time points, and in pain scores in the short term. Also, yoga seems to be comparable to exercise interventions, although the quality of evidence was low enough to preclude us from knowing for sure.

Saffron and Depression: What Do We Know and Where Do We Go?

Saffron studies, while still preliminary, show potential for use of this ancient spice in combatting mild-moderate depression.

Prediction of Survival After Cardiac Arrest Using Pupillometry

Automated infrared pupillometry holds promise as a quantitative, reproducible measure that aids in determining neurological prognosis after cardiac arrest and coma.

Distinguishing Ischemic from Non-ischemic Cardiomyopathy Clinically

SYNOPSIS: This cardiac catheterization-based study of patients with newly diagnosed reduced left ventricular ejection fraction of unknown etiology showed that 15% had ischemic cardiomyopathy and they could be identified by clinical characteristics and an ECG-based risk score.

B-type Natriuretic Peptide Is Less Useful in Elderly Patients with Dyspnea

SYNOPSIS: Among patients ≥ 80 years of age presenting with acute dyspnea, B-type natriuretic peptide level was not useful for differentiating cardiac vs. respiratory etiologies when added to a model of clinical predictors.

Sepsis Management: What We Think We Know

SYNOPSIS: In the Protocolized Resuscitation in Sepsis Meta-Analysis (PRISM), 3,723 patients’ outcomes from the ProCESS, ARISE, and ProMISe randomized, controlled trials of early goal-directed therapy (EGDT) were evaluated. EGDT did not result in better outcomes than usual care and was associated with higher costs. The authors of a second study looked at outcomes of 49,331 patients with sepsis treated in New York from April 2014 to June 2016. More rapid completion of the three-hour sepsis bundle and antibiotic administration (but not rapid bolus administration of IV fluids) was associated with reduced in-hospital mortality.

Dual Antibiotic Therapy Is Not Routinely Necessary for Uncomplicated Cellulitis

SYNOPSIS: A randomized, multicenter, placebo-controlled clinical trial that enrolled patients presenting to emergency departments with uncomplicated cellulitis found the addition of trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole to cephalexin did not lead to better outcomes.

Does Dexmedetomidine Improve Patient Outcomes in Sepsis?

In patients with sepsis requiring mechanical ventilation, use of dexmedetomidine compared with no dexmedetomidine did not result in an improvement in 28-day mortality or ventilator-free days.

Resilience in the ICU: A Valuable Asset for Families

Interventions that teach resilience may improve family members’ experiences in the ICU.

Management of Pulmonary Embolism in the ICU

Small, low-risk pulmonary embolism can be treated as an outpatient procedure or with heparin infusion alone, but higher-risk pulmonary embolism cases are managed properly in an ICU. With the introduction of newer modalities of treatment, appropriate risk stratification and the choice of treatment are increasingly complex.