June 2017
27 ArticlesNo Section
Primary biliary cholangitis: Old and novel therapy
Primary biliary cholangitis (PBC), formerly called primary biliary cirrhosis, is a chronic cholestatic liver disease that progresses slowly to end-stage liver disease. The first Food and Drug... more
Editorial
The rise of artificial intelligence and the uncertain future for physicians
Physicians in everyday clinical practice are under pressure to innovate faster than ever because of the rapid, exponential growth in healthcare data. “Big data” refers to extremely large data sets... more
Comparing SF-36® scores versus biomarkers to predict mortality in primary cardiac prevention patients
Risk stratification plays an important role in evaluating patients with no known cardiovascular disease (CVD). Few studies have investigated health-related quality of life questionnaires such as the... more
Letter to the Editor
Positive predictive value of hospital discharge diagnosis code to identify immunoglobulin A vasculitis in France: A validation study
Immunoglobulin A vasculitis (IgAV), formerly called Schonlein-Henoch purpura, belongs to immune complex small vessel vasculitis. IgAV is the most common vasculitis in childhood but is more rare in... more
Effect of ZIKA virus on adult eyes
First I would like to thank Dr. Wiwanitkit for raising the very pertinent point regarding the effect of Zika virus (ZIKV) in adult eyes. We discussed the various ocular manifestations of ZIKV in... more
Helping ethics committees separate the wheat from the chaff
Disappointingly most clinical research is wasteful as it is either futile or risky for patients [1]. Often its questions pursue aims other than the unmet clinical needs they claim to address, and... more
Is homeopathy a medicine?
In a recent Editorial published in this journal, Garattini and Mannucci wondered if outpatient homeopathy clinics and commercially available homeopathic products are yet deceiving people [1]. They... more
Eye problem in Zika virus infection
The recent publication on Zika virus infection is very interesting [1]. As noted by Bandyopadhyay and Hajra, there are several possible eye problems due to Zika virus infection [1]. An important... more
Lifestyle changes as internal medicine
Optimization of body weight by following healthy diet, physical activity program and stop smoking, are cornerstone strategies in prevention/treatment of major chronic diseases [1] from cardio-... more
Nitrates and osteoporosis: Which relationship?
Osteoporosis and related risk of fracture represent a major a common clinical condition and a major health problem, especially in elderly patients creating huge costs to the health care system [1].... more
The use of nutritional risk screening 2002 to predict prognosis in hospitalized patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease with respiratory failure
Due to the increasing energy expenditure, hospitalized patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) with respiratory failure are susceptible to nutritional risks [1]. It was reported... more
Factors associated with mild cognitive impairment in a population-based cohort
Dementia is currently a public health priority, covering about 8% of people over the age of sixty-five, 20% of the population over 80years of age in the Western world, and it is expected that these... more
Narrative Review
Alcoholic cardiomyopathy: What is known and what is not known
Excessive alcohol consumption represents one of the main causes of non-ischemic dilated cardiomyopathy. Alcoholic cardiomyopathy is characterized by dilation and impaired contraction of one or both... more
Brugada syndrome: A general cardiologist's perspective
Brugada syndrome (BrS) is one of the commonest inherited primary arrhythmia syndromes typically presenting with arrhythmic syncope or sudden cardiac death (SCD) due to polymorphic ventricular... more
Original Article
Time to antibiotics administration and outcome in community-acquired pneumonia: Secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial
The association between early antibiotic administration and outcomes remains controversial in patients hospitalized for community-acquired pneumonia.
Association between hospitalization for acute medical illness and VTE risk: A lower efficacy of thromboprophylaxis in elderly patients? Results from the EDITH case-control study
Whether the association between hospitalization and venous thromboembolism (VTE) is modified by the use of thromboprophylaxis in older patients remains insufficiently evaluated. Our objective was to... more
Re-emerging infectious diseases from the past: Hysteria or real risk?
Work on human remains and old biological samples is a potential source of contamination by conventional or atypical infectious agents. Similarly, current and future environmental changes are a source... more
A one-year mortality clinical prediction rule for patients with heart failure
To create and validate a clinical prediction rule which is easy to manage, reproducible and that allows classifying patients admitted for heart failure according to their one-year mortality risk.
Protective effect of N-acetylcysteine on progression to end-stage renal disease: Necessity for prospective clinical trial
We aimed to evaluate the potential benefits of N-acetylcysteine (NAC) on the risk of chronic kidney disease (CKD) progression to dialysis-requiring end-stage renal disease (ESRDd).
Oral glucose-stimulated growth hormone (GH) test in adult GH deficiency patients and controls: Potential utility of a novel test
The diagnosis of adult GH deficiency requires confirmation with a GH stimulation test. Oral glucose (OG) administration affects GH secretion, initially decreasing and subsequently stimulating GH... more
Impact of COPD on outcomes in hospitalized patients with community-acquired pneumonia: Analysis of the Spanish national hospital discharge database (2004–2013)
To examine trends in incidence and outcomes of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) hospitalizations among patients with or without COPD in Spain (2004–2013).
Impact of periodontal treatment on hospitalization for adverse respiratory events in asthmatic adults: A propensity-matched cohort study
Periodontal disease is prevalent in asthmatics, but it is unclear whether periodontal treatment plays a role in adverse respiratory events in these patients. We evaluated risk of hospitalization for... more
Occurrence of malignant neoplasia in patients with primary hyperparathyroidism
The association between primary hyperparathyroidism (1HPT) and cancer is debated. The present study was aimed to investigate the occurrence of neoplasia in 1HPT.
Discrimination ability of comorbidity, frailty, and subjective health to predict mortality in community-dwelling older people: Population based prospective cohort study
To investigate the added value of comorbidity, frailty, and subjective health to mortality predictions in community-dwelling older people and whether it changes with increasing age.
A comparative analysis of novel cardiovascular biomarkers in patients with chronic heart failure
Heart failure (HF) with reduced ejection fraction remains a major therapeutic challenge. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of novel cardiovascular biomarkers, i.e. soluble suppression... more
Genetic variation in the first-pass metabolism of ethinylestradiol, sex hormone binding globulin levels and venous thrombosis risk
Use of ethinylestradiol, one of the active ingredients in combined oral contraceptives, affects the incidence of venous thrombosis. To explain why some women develop thrombosis when using oral... more
Review Article
Portopulmonary hypertension and hepatorenal syndrome. Two faces of the same coin
Portopulmonary hypertension and hepatorenal syndrome are both severe local hypertensive complications of liver cirrhosis and portal hypertension. Both are characterized by vasoconstrictive... more