Internal Medicine Alert – October 30, 2024
October 30, 2024
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Treatment Direction After Unsuccessful Attempts at Smoking Cessation
This randomized trial found that, for patients unable to stop smoking after six weeks of treatment, increasing the dose of either varenicline or combination nicotine replacement therapy (CNRT) or switching from CNRT to varenicline, leads to an increased likelihood of success.
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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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Metformin Reduces SARS-CoV-2 Viral Load in Outpatients with COVID-19
A randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial of outpatients with COVID-19 found that metformin reduced SARS-CoV-2 viral load 3.6-fold compared to placebo, while ivermectin and fluvoxamine showed no benefit.
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Lebrikizumab-lbkz Injection (Ebglyss)
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved a humanized monoclonal antibody that targets interleukin-13 for the treatment of moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis.