Internal Medicine Alert – October 15, 2009
October 15, 2009
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Transmission of Influenza H1N1: What Is Not Being Done
Less than one-third of health care workers with probable or possible patient-to-health care provider transmission of H1N1 reported consistently using a surgical mask or N95 respirator. -
Percutaneous Closure of Left Atrial Appendage vs Warfarin Therapy
The efficacy of percutaneous closure of the LAA with the WATCHMAN® left atrial closure device was found to be non-inferior to that of standard warfarin therapy for prevention of stroke, cardiovascular death, and/or systemic embolism and, therefore, the device might provide an alternative strategy to chronic warfarin therapy for stroke prophylaxis in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation. -
Diabetes and CV Disease: An Uneasy Truce
The authors of this meta-analysis conclude that their results support the use of aggressive insulin-lowering therapy to reduce major CV outcomes but not all-cause mortality; further, they recommend vigilance in avoiding hypoglycemia while steadily reducing HbA1c. -
Pharmacology Update: Pitavastatin Tablets (Livalo®)
The FDA has granted market approval for pitava-statin, the seventh HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor, or "statin." It is a high-potency statin similar to rosuvastatin and atorvastatin. -
Clinical Briefs By Louis Kuritzky, MD
Procalcitonin (PCT) is a laboratory metric that helps to distinguish bacterial from viral infections. PCT measurement has been previously shown to help identify bacterial infections in patients presenting with otitis media and other respiratory infections. -
ECG Review: Has There Been an Infarct?
The ECG tracing shown above was obtained from a 50-year-old man with a history of longstanding hypertension.