June 2023
33 ArticlesNo Section
Treatment of recurrent pericarditis in elderly
Dear Editor,
Clinical Insights
Searching the literature to explain unexpected clinical observations: all that glitters is not gold
Curiosity is a core quality of healthcare professionals. When confronted with an unexpected clinical observation, for instance a remarkable symptom in a patient with an apparently unrelated disease,... more
Safety of COVID-19 vaccines
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines deployed in the European Union (EU) and assessed by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) have been developed and approved in less than 12 months, still... more
Commentary
Novel LDL-cholesterol lowering therapies: A step forward a personalized medicine
The Low-density lipoproteins (LDL) as well as all the ApoB-containing lipoproteins (VLDL remnants and Lp(a)) are etiological factors of atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases (ASCVD). Several... more
Mortality and causes of death in systemic lupus erythematosus revisited
Since the first description of the bimodal mortality pattern in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in 1976 [1], it seemed clear that disease activity, renal involvement and infections played a major... more
Decoding risk: Caravaggio's insights into risk factors for anticoagulation in cancer-associated thrombosis
Predicting the risk of rethrombosis and hemorrhage in cancer patients with venous thromboembolism (VTE) poses a considerable challenge. The wide range of individual differences in this population... more
Clinical implications of the biological ambivalence of uric acid
Uric acid has historically been viewed as an inert waste product of purine metabolism, just like urea for proteins, able to crystallize at high concentrations, thus causing gouty arthritis and renal... more
Internal Medicine Flashcard
A typical but rare cause of hemoptysis
A 51-year-old female patient was admitted to our institution because of abnormal lung shadows that were accidentally found during her health examination. The patient did not experience fever, cough,... more
Bilateral enlarged ovarian masses and hypothyroidism
A 15-year-old female, with irregular menses, presented with a two-week history of abdominal pain and enlargement. She had no past medical history and she was not taking any medications. On clinical... more
A female with left lower limb deep vein thrombosis
A 42-year-old female patient presented to the Emergency Department (ED) for unilateral edema involving the entire left lower limb that had been rapidly progressing in the last 24 h. It was associated... more
Letter to the Editor
Solid organ transplantation: Need of a new paradigm integrating biological sex
Dear Editor,
Does biological sex matter in solid organ transplantation?
Solid organ transplantation (SOT) has become an increasingly common procedure in the management of end-stage organ disease. While sex is a biologically determined characteristic that affects the... more
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 evolution: How mutations affect XBB.1.5 variant
The ongoing Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is currently driven by the highly infectious Omicron variant of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which was first... more
COVID-19 vaccines and increased blood pressure
Dear Editor, we would like to share some ideas on the article “The relationship between coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines and increased blood pressure: A word of caution. [1].”Although... more
Clinical outcomes of patients with incident atrial fibrillation diagnosed by cardiologists compared to non-cardiologists
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Therapeutic adherence in hyperlipidemia: When one size doesn't fit all
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Telemedicine in internal medicine: A statement by the European Federation of Internal Medicine.
The World Health Organization defines telemedicine as “the delivery of health care services, where distance is a critical factor, by all health care professionals using information and communication... more
Safety of arterial catheters in internal medicine ward: A new competence for the internist?
Dear editor,
Colchicine and mortality outcomes in patients with coronavirus disease (COVID-19)
One of the therapeutic hallmarks of the ongoing (COVID-19) pandemic has been the different iterations of successful and sometimes unsuccessful attempts at re-purposing of drugs with pre-existing... more
Safety of COVID-19 vaccines: A comparison between adverse drug reactions among vaccines marketed in Europe
The current pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome CoronaVirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) prompted the rapid production of vaccines against the virus. In view... more
Statistical models to predict clinical outcomes with anakinra vs. tocilizumab treatments for severe pneumonia in COVID19 patients
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Original Article
Can we predict the treatment doses of THC and CBD and does it matter?
Of the hundreds of cannabinoids that have been identified in the cannabis plant, the most well-known are Δ9-Tetra-Hydrocannabinol (Δ9-THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) [1,2]. Cannabis chemovars are... more
Prevalence, awareness, and treatment of isolated diastolic hypertension in the United States
Isolated diastolic hypertension (IDH) is a subtype of hypertension that is relatively uncommon, accounting for less than 20% of all hypertension cases [1]. It is highly prevalent in the young and... more
Older patients with nonspecific complaints at the Emergency Department are at risk of adverse health outcomes
Older adults who visit the Emergency Department (ED) often present with nonspecific complaints (NSC) due to age related physiologic changes, reduced functional reserves, comorbidities and cognitive... more
The initial timing and dosage pattern of sacubitril/valsartan in patients with acute myocardial infarction undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention
Despite the development of coronary intervention techniques and advances in medication, acute myocardial infarction (AMI) remains the main cause of death from coronary artery disease [1].... more
Spontaneous portosystemic shunts outside the esophago-gastric region: Prevalence, clinical characteristics, and impact on mortality in cirrhotic patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Cirrhosis is the terminal stage of various chronic liver diseases [1,2]. Patients with compensated cirrhosis are usually asymptomatic, while those in the decompensated stage have clinical... more
Association between cumulative dose of hydroxychloroquine and electrocardiographic abnormalities in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus
Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic, multisystemic disease with a variable and potentially severe prognostic course [1]. Antimalarial agents, such as chloroquine (CQ) and, mainly,... more
Current evidence and clinical utility of phenobarbital for alcohol withdrawal syndrome
Alcohol is the most commonly abused substance in the United States, with an estimated 1.2 million hospital admissions being related to the abuse. Approximately 500,000 episodes of withdrawal symptoms... more
Serum uric acid variation and the risk of cardiovascular disease: A prospective cohort study
Serum uric acid (SUA) is an end product of purine nucleotide catabolism arising from endogenous and exogenous sources [1,2]. The SUA levels are rigorously controlled by the balance between SUA... more
Risk factors for recurrence and major bleeding in patients with cancer-associated venous thromboembolism
Cancer and venous thromboembolism (VTE), which includes deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE), are linked by a two-way association [1]. On one hand, 15–20% of patients who are... more
Mortality and causes of death in systemic lupus erythematosus over the last decade: Data from a large population-based study
Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a complex, severe autoimmune disease which can potentially lead to life-threatening manifestations and therapy-associated complications. Common causes of death... more
Review Article
Vasovagal syncope: An overview of pathophysiological mechanisms
Syncope is a transient loss of consciousness, characterized by amnesia, loss of postural tone, occasional disturbances of smooth muscle control, which is spontaneously reversible [1]. According to... more
Current and future options in cholesterol lowering treatments
The relative risk reduction of cardiovascular events is proportional to the absolute reduction in LDL-C levels, the primary target of therapy, no matter the way of reduction. During the last decades... more