Diagnostics
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The History Matters!
How would you interpret today’s 12-lead electrocardiogram and long lead V1 rhythm strip if the history was that of an older adult with known coronary disease? Would your interpretation change if, instead, the patient was a younger adult with a known history of severe congenital heart disease, having been operated on a number of times as a child?
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HPV Self-Test Kits Could Save Time for Clinicians
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved two HPV self-collection tests on May 14, 2024. These allow people to collect their own vaginal samples for HPV testing in clinic settings.
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Acute STEMI or Something Else?
Interpret the electrocardiogram (ECG) in the figure without the benefit of any clinical information. Is this ECG indicative of an acute anterior ST-elevation myocardial infarction?
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What Kind of Block?
The electrocardiogram in the figure was obtained from an older adult who presented for evaluation of syncope. What kind of atrioventricular (AV) block is present? Or is the rhythm something other than an AV block?
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Looking Beyond LDL in Cardiovascular Risk Screening for Women
In a 30-year prospective study of nearly 28,000 initially healthy U.S. women, baseline levels of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol or lipoprotein(a) independently and additively predicted major cardiovascular events.
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And Then What Happens?
You are consulted on the electrocardiogram (ECG) in the figure — but without the benefit of any clinical information. This tracing was assessed as showing AFib (atrial fibrillation) with a controlled ventricular response. Do you agree?
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Beware Social Media Posts Promoting Medical Tests, Potential for Overdiagnosis
An analysis of widely viewed social media posts about five medical tests — full body magnetic resonance imaging, multicancer early detection, anti-Müllerian hormone, gut microbiome, and testosterone tests — found that 87.1% of the posts promoted benefits, while just 14.7% acknowledged potential harms and only 6.1% raised concerns about overuse or overdiagnosis.
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Blood Biomarker for the Diagnosis of Alzheimer’s Disease
In this population-based study of patients in Sweden with cognitive complaints, mild cognitive impairment, and dementia, the use of blood biomarkers, specifically, phosphorylated tau 217 and amyloid-beta 42/40 ratios, improved the diagnostic accuracy for pathological Alzheimer’s disease in primary care patients as well as patients seen by dementia specialists.
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Diagnostic Uncertainty in Community-Acquired Pneumonia
A national retrospective cohort study from the Veterans Administration found a high rate of diagnostic discordance for patients admitted and discharged for community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). Improvement in the diagnosis of CAP is needed.
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Know HCV Status to Take Effective New Medicines
The prevalence of hepatitis C virus infection is significantly higher in healthcare workers than in the general population. Healthcare workers could access effective medications with few side effects by testing for the virus and pursuing treatment. However, high costs and insurance barriers hinder these efforts.