April 2021
No Section
Inhaled long-acting muscarinic antagonists in asthma – A narrative review
The efficacy of muscarinic antagonists in asthma has been known since the early 1800s when inhalation of smoke from burning Datura stramonium leaves and roots became widespread in Britain as a... more
Commentary
Postoperative atrial fibrillation after non-cardiac surgery: How important is it and what do we do about it?
Postoperative atrial fibrillation (POAF), defined as the occurrence of new-onset AF in the perioperative setting, is a common complication occurring in up to 3% of patients undergoing non-... more
Proton Pump Inhibitor (PPI) co-therapy and gastrointestinal bleeding with antithrombotic drugs: a step forward but not enough
Nonvariceal gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding is common and one of the most frequent medical events which determine hospitalizations worldwide. Death rates (5-12%) in patients with GI bleeding are... more
Internal Medicine Flashcard
A forgotten disease in Japan
A 67-year-old woman with acute onset of fever, disorientation, and confusion was transferred to our emergency department. Physical findings revealed neck stiffness, left dominant tremulous arms with... more
A man with arthralgias and skin lesions
A healthy 43-year-old man presented to the Emergency Department with a one-week history of fever, low back pain and arthralgias mainly localized in the right knee. Physical examination revealed... more
Letter to the Editor
Mid-day sleep and blood pressure in patients with arterial hypertension. Author's reply
We thank Dr Kawada for his comments on our study [1]. He raised some concerns regarding the effect of mid-day sleep on alertness and performance as well as health outcomes. He based his concerns on... more
Proprotein Convertase Subtilisin-Kexin Type 9 inhibitors and stroke prevention: A meta-analysis
Dear Editor, over the last decades lipid-modifying strategies made a pivotal change in cardiovascular prevention especially in patients with previous coronary artery disease or ischemic stroke. In... more
Associating enterococcal endocarditis and colorectal neoplasia: is colonoscopy mandatory? – Authors’ reply
We are glad to share with Corredoira and colleagues the interest for our recently published work regarding the relationship between Enteroccocus spp infective endocarditis (EIE) and colorectal... more
Mid-day sleep and blood pressure in patients with arterial hypertension
To the Editor
NEWS2 is a valuable tool for appropriate clinical management of COVID-19 patients
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a severe acute respiratory infection caused by an emergent coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, recognized in Wuhan (China) in December 2019. The World Health Organization... more
Prognostic Implications of Residual Pleural Effusions at Discharge in Patients with Acute Decompensated Heart Failure
Pleural effusion, which is included as one of the Framingham minor diagnostic criteria for heart failure (HF), is one of the common signs reflecting body fluid retention and can be quickly and... more
Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors versus angiotensin II receptor blockers for renal outcomes and mortality in diabetic kidney disease
Diabetic kidney disease (DKD) is the leading cause of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) worldwide. Inhibition of intrarenal renin-angiotensin system (RAS) with angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (... more
Associating enterococcal endocarditis and colorectal neoplasia: is colonoscopy mandatory?
Dear Editor:
Sodium fluctuation, a novel single parameter to predict hospital mortality
Dysnatremia is the most common electrolyte disorder in hospitalized patients [1]. Dysnatremia is generally classified as hyponatremia (145mmol/L). Many studies showed that hypernatremia and... more
Risk of infectious events in acute myocardial infarction patients treated with ticagrelor or clopidogrel
Ticagrelor is an oral direct-acting antiplatelet agent that inhibits P2Y12 receptor activation. The PLATO study showed that ticagrelor significantly reduced the composite outcome of vascular death,... more
Original Article
The Diagnosis of Acute Myocarditis in Emergency (DAME) score: improving diagnostics within the emergency department.
Myocarditis is defined as an inflammatory cardiac muscular disease. The etiology is extremely heterogeneous, the causes varying from infective (bacterial, viral, etc) to non-infective (drugs,... more
Validity of "Sepsis-3" criteria in identifying patients with community-onset sepsis in Internal Medicine wards; a prospective, multicenter study
Few data are available on the validity of “Sepsis-3” criteria in identifying patients with sepsis in internal medicine wards (IMWs). Real-life data about this topic and on the prevalence of sepsis in... more
Alcoholic liver disease and autoimmune hepatitis: Sometimes a closer look under the surface is needed
Differential diagnosis of autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) incorporates various liver diseases, including alcoholic liver disease (ALD). We report on clinical, laboratory and outcome characteristics of AIH... more
Long-term outcomes of postoperative atrial fibrillation following non cardiac surgery: A systematic review and metanalysis
New-onset atrial fibrillation (AF) in non-cardiac postoperative setting is common and is associated with a high risk of in-hospital mortality and morbidity. The long-term risks of stroke, mortality... more
Lung ultrasonography: A prognostic tool in non-ICU hospitalized patients with COVID-19 pneumonia
From February to March 2020, Italy became the most affected country worldwide by coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Our healthcare system was put under enormous pressure, especially in Lombardia which... more
Prevalence and impact on outcome of sodium and potassium disorders in patients with community-acquired pneumonia: A retrospective analysis
Disorders of serum sodium and potassium are frequently encountered in hospitalized patients and patients presenting to the emergency department (ED) [1, 2].
Cardiac involvement in eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (formerly Churg-Strauss syndrome): Prospective evaluation at a tertiary referral centre
Eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (EGPA) is a rare systemic vasculitis. Cardiac specific involvement (CSI) is caused by coronary artery vasculitis, but also by myocardial eosinophilic... more
The Atrial fibrillation Better Care (ABC) pathway and cardiac complications in atrial fibrillation: a potential sex-based difference. The ATHERO-AF study
An integrated care approach is recommended to optimize management of patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). The impact of the Atrial fibrillation Better Care (ABC) pathway on major adverse cardiac... more
Home FIRsT: interdisciplinary geriatric assessment and disposition outcomes in the Emergency Department
With population ageing worldwide, the numbers of older people attending Emergency Departments (ED) continue to increase, which may lead to adverse operational and patient outcomes. [1] Older people... more
Serum levels of C-terminal FGF23 (cFGF23) are associated with 1-year-mortality in patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR)
The family of fibroblast growth factors (FGFs) was discovered in 1975 [1] and has since been investigated in numerous scientific studies. The FGFs comprise a group of 22 small polypeptides (... more
Prevalence, risk factors and proteomic bioprofiles associated with heart failure in rheumatoid arthritis: The RA-HF study
Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is a systemic chronic and progressive inflammatory disease, characterized by persistent synovitis and joint erosion [1]. It affects around 1% of the general population and... more
Review Article
Gastroprotection in patients on antiplatelet and/or anticoagulant therapy: a position paper of National Association of Hospital Cardiologists (ANMCO) and the Italian Association of Hospital Gastroenterologists and Endoscopists (AIGO)
Aspirin and P2Y12 receptor antagonists are widely used across the spectrum of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. Gastrointestinal complications, including ulcer and bleeding, are relatively... more