Browse Internal Medicine Articles by Topic

Optimizing AED Placement Locations

A study of the location of out-of-hospital cardiac arrests (OHCA) compared to the location of automatic external defibrillators (AED) in Denmark showed that if the placements of AEDs more closely matched the location of OHCAs, bystander defibrillation and 30-day survival would improve.

Cardiac Constriction vs. Cardiac Restriction

The five Mayo Clinic Doppler echocardiographic criteria for the diagnosis of constrictive pericarditis (CP) were tested in a group of surgically confirmed CP compared to a group of cardiac biopsy proven amyloid restrictive cardiomyopathy. Interventricular septal bounce and an elevated mitral annular medial e’ were found to be the most accurate criteria, especially if used together.

Value of PET Scans in Infective Endocarditis

18F-FDG PET/CT imaging in a consecutive series of patients with proven infective endocarditis was of diagnostic value in those with prosthetic value endocarditis and of prognostic value in all cases.

Dapagliflozin Treatment Improves Life Quality for Systolic Heart Failure Patients

Treatment with dapagliflozin for 12 weeks resulted in improved health status, either a reduction in NT-proBNP or improvement in quality of life measures, in systolic heart failure patients with or without type 2 diabetes mellitus.

A Review of Atrial Fibrillation and Current Therapeutic Strategies: Part 2

This two-part series presents a review of the current evidence on atrial fibrillation (AF). The first part included the definition of AF, its classification, risk factors, comorbidities, evaluation, and acute management of newly diagnosed patients. The second part focuses on long-term management, including risk factor modification, rate and rhythm control measures, stroke risk stratification, and anticoagulation management.

Lasmiditan Tablets (Reyvow)

Lasmiditan is indicated for the acute treatment of migraine with or without aura in adults.

One-Fifth of Adults Have a Food Allergy

Do all these people have true food allergies, or just think they do?

Think You Don’t Smell?

Although showering with hot water and harsh soap daily may not be optimal, studies have shown that regular bathing with good soap and water reduces the risk of infection in individuals colonized with Staphylococcus aureus.

2019 Community-Acquired Pneumonia in Adults Guideline: Not Much New Under the Sun

One can quibble over a number of the guideline recommendations, but they provide a valuable touchstone for clinical management of patients with community-acquired pneumonia, despite the fact that so many of the recommendations are based on low- or very low-quality evidence.

Mortality and Vitamin D Supplementation: A Meta-Analysis

Researchers determined that when compared with placebo or no treatment, vitamin D supplementation alone was not associated with an increase in overall all-cause mortality, although there were some nuances based on vitamin D form and type of mortality.