Internal Medicine
RSSArticles
-
A Review of Updated Guidelines Regarding Bradycardia and Cardiac Conduction Delay
The American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task Force on Clinical Practice Guidelines and the Heart Rhythm Society have established updated guidelines on the evaluation and management of patients with bradycardia and conduction delays. Many key elements remain largely unchanged from prior guideline recommendations on pacemakers published in 2008 and 2012, but there also are important new definitions, recommendations, and areas of emphasis.
-
Early Identification of Cardiac Amyloidosis in Carpal Tunnel Surgery Patients
In a cohort of older patients undergoing carpal tunnel release surgery, an analysis of tenosynovial tissue revealed amyloid deposits in 10% of patients. This development may facilitate early diagnosis of cardiac amyloidosis.
-
Mitral Annulus Disjunction and Ventricular Arrhythmias
A patient cohort with mitral annular disjunction (MAD) identified by echo was characterized clinically and by MRI. Ventricular arrhythmias were common in MAD patients and related to the degree of MAD and papillary muscle fibrosis by MRI but not the presence of mitral valve prolapse.
-
Detection of Prosthetic Heart Valve Endocarditis
A multicenter, retrospective, observational study of patients undergoing 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose PET/CT for prosthetic valve endocarditis or other indications showed that if certain obvious confounders are excluded, this imaging technique offers a high degree of accuracy for diagnosing prosthetic valve endocarditis, especially if performed early in the course of the disease.
-
Study Adds Complexity to Post-TAVR Anticoagulation
In this large contemporary, prospective transcatheter aortic valve replacement registry, oral anticoagulation appears to be protective against valve degeneration but is associated with increased mortality. The strongest predictors of mortality at three years were male gender, renal failure, and atrial fibrillation.
-
Infectious Disease Alert Updates
Metagenomics for Prosthetic Joint Infection; Helicobacter pylori: A Mini Primer
-
Severe Sepsis and Septic Shock Early Management Bundle
When the Severe Sepsis and Septic Shock Early Management Bundle was used to identify patients with severe sepsis or patients in septic shock, delays in lactate measurements for patients with abnormal lactate levels were associated with delayed initiation of antibiotic therapy and increased mortality.
-
Healthcare-associated Infections — Better, But Not There Yet
One-day prevalence studies demonstrated that there has been a 16% reduction in the risk of healthcare-associated infections from 2011 to 2015.
-
Oral Linezolid for Staphylococcus aureus Bacteremia
Investigators evaluated 135 patients with Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia (SAB) in a prospective cohort study comparing early switch to oral linezolid to continued treatment with standard parenteral therapy (SPT). Patients with complicated SAB and osteoarticular infection were excluded. Early switch to oral therapy yielded similar outcomes to continued SPT and allowed earlier hospital discharge.
-
Factors Associated With Urinary Tract Infections Caused by Multidrug-resistant Gram-negative Bacteria
A multicenter, retrospective, cohort study from southern and eastern Europe identified predictive factors for multidrug-resistant complicated urinary tract infections (cUTI), which included male sex, cUTI acquisition in a healthcare facility, presence of a Foley catheter, having a UTI in the previous year, and receiving an antibiotic in the preceding 30 days.