Browse Internal Medicine Articles by Topic

The Relationship Between Inactivity and Mortality in Heart Failure Patients

Physical inactivity in heart failure patients was associated with an increased risk of all-cause death and cardiac death but not with an increased risk of heart failure hospitalization.

Acetazolamide in Mechanically Ventilated Patients with COPD: Is There a Benefit?

Compared to placebo, the use of acetazolamide in mechanically ventilated patients with COPD does not significantly reduce the duration of mechanical ventilation.

New Analysis of COGENT Data Supports Proton Pump Inhibitor Benefit with Low and High Aspirin Doses

A dedicated analysis of the COGENT trial involving coronary artery disease patients on dual antiplatelet therapy shows comparable risks of gastrointestinal and cardiovascular events between low- and high-dose aspirin, and similar benefits of prophylactic proton pump inhibitor therapy.

Communication Facilitators Potentially Can Improve Care for the Sickest ICU Patients

Highly trained communication facilitators who counseled families and met with physicians and nurses were shown to decrease symptoms of depression in family members at six months and decreased ICU length of stay without affecting mortality.

Rivaroxaban in the Real World

A large Phase IV registry study shows that rivaroxaban is associated with a very low incidence of major bleeding, death, or stroke. Also, adherence to therapy was much higher than observed in other studies with vitamin K antagonists.

Delaying Intubation in Severe Alcohol Withdrawal

Delaying intubation until aspiration or cardiopulmonary decompensation did not affect mortality but increased the incidence of pneumonia and length of stay.

Cerebral Microbleeds Are Risk Factor for Symptomatic Intracerebral Hemorrhage in Patients Undergoing IV Thrombolysis

Cerebral microbleeds, as visualized on gradient-echo or susceptibility-weighted MRI, are considered markers of bleeding-prone cerebral microvessels and constitute a significant and independent predictor of future intracerebral hemorrhage.

Which Patients with TIA Are at High Risk for a Recurrent Cerebral Vascular Events?

Recurrent cerebral vascular events are one of the main determinants of outcome in patients after minor strokes and transient ischemic attacks.

Dual Antiplatelet Therapy Appears More Effective Than Single Therapy

How long should duel antiplatelet therapy after stroke or transient ischemic attack last?

Epidemiology of Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorders in Two Distinct Populations: Black and White

Based on an epidemiological study in two ethnically and geographically distinct populations of patients diagnosed with central nervous system inflammatory demyelinating diseases, the authors report a higher prevalence among Afro-Caribbean patients in Martinique in the eastern Caribbean sea vs. a predominantly Caucasian population in Olmstead County in Minnesota. The study demonstrates a propensity for neuromyelitis optica to affect blacks more than Caucasians.