January 2018
26 ArticlesNo Section
COPD exacerbations in the emergency department: Epidemiology and related costs. A retrospective cohort multicentre study from the Italian Society of Emergency Medicine (SIMEU)
Acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPDs) frequently cause patients with COPD to access the emergency department and have a negative impact on the course of the disease.... more
A red eye and a brown back: There's no smoke without a fire!
A 55-year-old woman with a history of psoriasis, hidradenitis suppurativa, and back pain was referred to our emergency department because of fever and pain around her left eye. She had no respiratory... more
Appropriateness of statin prescription in the elderly
Statins, the most widely used drugs in the Western world, have become a pivotal component in the primary and secondary prevention of vascular diseases. Although benefits have been well documented in... more
Internal Medicine Flashcard
Podoconiosis: Nonfilarial endemic elephantiasis
A 54-year-old male with medical history of hypertension was admitted for inability to walk and painless leg swelling. The swelling started in both feet and progressively extended to his mid legs.... more
Nevus-like lesions on the lip and the foot
Our 18-year-old male patient was admitted to our hospital with the complaints of impaired growth of body hair and erectile dysfunction. He was 1.77cm and 51kg with BMI of 16.7kg/m2. Micrognathia,... more
Mucocutaneous hyperpigmentation
A 43-year-old woman with a 1-year history of 6-kg weight loss and weakness was diagnosed with primary hypothyroidism and started levothyroxine one week before. She presented to the emergency... more
The recurrent intertriginous rash
A 51years old lady presented to the dermatology department for recurrent painful, pruritic and malodourous erosive plaques in the intertriginous folds and scalp since the age of twelve years. Prior... more
Exfoliative esophagitis
A 78-year-old woman presented to the author's hospital with epigastralgia. Vital signs were normal and the patient's abdomen was soft. The patient had taken dabigatran 110mg twice daily due to atrial... more
Two classical neurological syndromes following a stab wound
A previously healthy 28-year-old man presented to the trauma department after being stabbed in the head, neck, and torso by multiple assailants. He was able to speak and breathe independently.... more
Letter to the Editor
Association between unplanned readmission to a different hospital and all-cause mortality among older patients with ischemic heart disease: A nationwide claim study
Up to one-third of patients are readmitted to a different hospital although it is unclear whether the readmission site affects subsequent outcomes. For example, although most patients are readmitted... more
Microcytosis is important in screening of iron deficiency anemia
We have read with interest the observations by Jolobe O. on our recently review entitled “clinical management of iron deficiency anemia in adults: systemic review on advances in diagnosis and... more
Beyond cut-off values for hypertension… individualize interventions
The recently proposed new classification and intervention for hypertension published by the ACC/AHA/AAPA/ABC/ACPM/AGS/APhA/ASH/ASPC/NMA/PCNA Panel [1] have caused lots of controversy since it lowers... more
Pressure to publish in the biomedical scientific field: Ethical conflicts or a possible obsessive-compulsive disorder?
Some author recently reported that pressure to publish in the scientific biomedical field may push down research quality and should debase any editorial policy that aims at discouraging competing... more
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and community acquired pneumonia: Additional studies are required
We have read the letter written by Santos et al. [1], in response to the manuscript previously published by us about the impact of COPD on outcomes in hospitalized patients with community-acquired... more
Prognostic accuracy of qsofa according to the site of infection in older patient attended in Emergency Department
Early identification and intensive management of sepsis improve patient outcomes [1,2]. The quick sepsis-related organ failure assessment (qSOFA) score was developed to identify patients suspected of... more
Narrative Review
Medical use of cannabis and cannabinoids containing products – Regulations in Europe and North America
In 1937, the United States of America criminalized the use of cannabis and as a result its use decreased rapidly. In recent decades, there is a growing interest in the wide range of medical uses of... more
Original Article
Incidence of pheochromocytoma and sympathetic paraganglioma in the Netherlands: A nationwide study and systematic review
Recent years have seen major changes in clinical practice which may have affected the incidence rates of pheochromocytoma(PCC)/sympathetic paraganglioma(sPGL). There is, however, a lack of up-to-date... more
Effect of short- and long-term diabetes control on in-hospital and one year mortality rates in hospitalized patients with diabetic foot
It remains unclear whether diabetic patients with diabetic foot complications benefit from strict glycemic control during hospitalization The present study investigates the effect of short- and long-... more
Female gender and mortality risk in decompensated heart failure
Still there is conflicting evidence about gender-related differences in prognosis among patients with heart failure. This prognostic uncertainty may have implications for risk stratification and... more
Peripheral arterial disease is associated with higher mortality in patients with incident acute myocardial infarction
Little data is available on short- and long-term survival in patients with peripheral arterial disease (PAD) after acute myocardial infarction (AMI). We aimed to examine the association of PAD and 28... more
Exercise transcutaneous oximetry significantly modifies the diagnostic hypotheses and impacts scheduled investigations or treatments of patients with exertional limb pain
In lower extremity peripheral artery disease (PAD), transcutaneous oximetry at exercise (Ex-TcpO2) has been largely validated in research practice, but evidence of routine practice in various... more
Effectiveness of guideline-consistent heart failure drug prescriptions at hospital discharge on 1-year mortality: Results from the EPICAL2 cohort study
We aimed to assess the effectiveness of recommended drug prescriptions at hospital discharge on 1-year mortality in patients with heart failure (HF) and reduced ejection fraction (HFREF).
Review Article
Severe idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis: A clinical approach
Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a devastating progressive disease associated with a high mortality rate. Novel antifibrotic therapies have been recently demonstrated to slow disease... more
The therapeutic potential of targeting the peripheral endocannabinoid/CB1 receptor system
Endocannabinoids (eCBs) are internal lipid mediators recognized by the cannabinoid-1 and -2 receptors (CB1R and CB2R, respectively), which also mediate the different physiological effects of... more
The therapeutic effects of Cannabis and cannabinoids: An update from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine report
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine conducted a rapid turn-around comprehensive review of recent medical literature on The Health Effects of Cannabis and Cannabinoids. The 16... more
Practical considerations in medical cannabis administration and dosing
Cannabis has been employed medicinally throughout history, but its recent legal prohibition, biochemical complexity and variability, quality control issues, previous dearth of appropriately powered... more