Internal Medicine
RSSArticles
-
Infectious Disease Alert Updates
Online Sex and Sexually Transmitted Diseases; Swingers Come Out; HIV-positive Patients Require Hepatitis B Vaccine
-
Adjuvanted Recombinant Hepatitis B Vaccine (Heplisav-B)
Heplisav-B is a new hepatitis B vaccine approved by the FDA in November 2017.
-
Influenza Vaccine: High Dose or Standard Dose?
High-dose inactivated influenza vaccine was superior to standard-dose vaccine in providing protection against influenza or pneumonia-associated hospitalizations.
-
Refugee Screening
Screening and potential treatment of refugees prior to travel to the United States effectively reduces the burden of infection.
-
SIRS Criteria vs. qSOFA for Predicting Short-term Mortality From Sepsis
A meta-analysis that included 38 studies found the SIRS criteria had a higher sensitivity than qSOFA in predicting short-term mortality from sepsis. SIRS criteria remain useful as a screening tool for sepsis and as a prompt to initiate diagnostic work-up and treatment.
-
Neuroimaging Before Lumbar Puncture?
The investigators retrospectively evaluated ESCMIID, IDSA, and Swedish guidelines for neuroimaging in 815 adults with acute bacterial meningitis. Swedish guidelines omit altered mental status and immunosuppression as indications for imaging prior to lumbar puncture. Adherence to Swedish guidelines resulted in decreased mortality and more favorable outcomes.
-
Permanent His-bundle Pacing Cardiac Resynchronization: The Way Nature Intended
When used as either a primary alternative to biventricular pacing or a rescue therapy for failed biventricular pacing, permanent His-bundle pacing was associated with significant QRS narrowing, an increase in left ventricular ejection fraction, and an improvement in New York Heart Association functional class.
-
Age-stratified NT-proBNP Thresholds Identify Acute Heart Failure
In patients presenting to the ED with acute dyspnea, age-based NT-proBNP cutpoints help diagnose acute heart failure.
-
Are Beta-blockers Indicated for Heart Failure at all LVEF Levels?
A meta-analysis of 11 trials of beta-blockers for heart failure showed that beta-blockers increased left ventricular ejection fraction and reduced cardiovascular mortality in patients in sinus rhythm with baseline ejection fractions < 50%, including those in the 40-49% range.
-
CABG vs. PCI in Diabetes With Multivessel Coronary Artery Disease and LV Dysfunction
A propensity score-matching analysis of all patients undergoing coronary angiography in Alberta, Canada, identified a subgroup with diabetes, multivessel coronary artery disease, and left ventricular ejection fraction < 50% who were undergoing revascularization and could be separated into a group undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and another coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). At five years' follow-up, the CABG group experienced significantly fewer major cardiac or cerebral vascular events compared to PCI and a low risk of stroke that was similar to that observed with PCI.