November 2017
15 ArticlesEditorial
Introduction to the special issue on acutely ill patients
As medicine becomes more successful the demand for acute care can only increase. Before modern intensive care many patients died during their first major medical emergency. Nowadays, even for... more
Invited Article
Biological treatments in giant cell arteritis & Takayasu arteritis
Giant cell arteritis (GCA) and Takayasu arteritis (TAK) are the two main large vessel vasculitides. They share some similarities regarding their clinical, radiological and histological presentations... more
Letter to the Editor
On the use of substandard medicines in hematology: An emerging concern in the Middle East and North Africa region
Generic drugs (generics) are vital to the sustainability of health care systems, especially in developing areas with low resources. Ensuring benefit to patients through the approval and delivery of... more
CISNE or MASCC, which predictor is really the weakest in febrile neutropenia?
Daniel Kahneman convincingly disputes that heuristic shortcuts produce cognitive biases; large doses of patience and reflection are needed to counteract them [1], although sometimes this is... more
Prevalence of bendopnea in general population without heart failure
Recently, a new symptom of heart failure called bendopnea and its prognosis was described [1–4]. We called bendopnea to the lack of air that occurs during the first 30s while bending forward. The... more
Periods of unexplained higher deaths and medical admissions have occurred previously – But have apparently been ignored, misinterpreted or not investigated
I have recently published three studies regarding unexplained periods of higher death and medical admissions [1–3].
The “true clinicians” do not need formal tools to define the complexity of their patients. Is this statement always true?
In the daily clinical practice, doctors often use their experienced “gut feeling” and/or “spot eye” in the assessment of their complex patients. According to this point of view someone could affirm... more
Life expectancy is unaffected by thyroid function parameters in euthyroid subjects: The PREVEND cohort study
During the past few years the concept is emerging that differences in thyroid function status even within the reference range may impact on a wide number of health issues [1,2]. Low-normal thyroid... more
Helicobacter pylori and proton pump inhibitor therapy: One diagnostic method is enough?
In a recent study Negovan et al. assessed the impact of pathological and clinical predisposing factors (histological findings, concomitant drug consumption, comorbidities, symptoms, social habits,... more
Bleeding related to non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants in emergency department: A “Real-world” snapshot from Southern Italy. On behalf of MIRC-NOAC study group
The introduction of non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants (NOAC) in antithrombotic therapy is one of the major recent milestones in the general pharmacopeia [1]. Despite several papers about... more
Original Article
Treatment with levothyroxin in subclinical hypothyroidism is associated with increased mortality in the elderly
It is uncertain whether subclinical hypothyroidism should be treated with levothyroxine, particularly in the elderly. This study evaluated the association between levothyroxine treatment and... more
Development and validation of a scoring system for the identification of pleural exudates of cardiac origin
Light's criteria misclassify about 30% of cardiac effusions as exudates, possibly leading to unnecessary testing. Our purpose was to derive and validate a scoring model to effectively identify these... more
Prevalence of anemia in hospitalized internal medicine patients: Correlations with comorbidities and length of hospital stay
Several studies have documented a linear growth of the prevalence of anemia with aging. Especially in hospitalized elderly patients, anemia can aggravate the course of chronic disorders, and... more
The cholesterol-lowering effect of statins is potentiated by whole grains intake. The Polish Norwegian Study (PONS)
Hypercholesterolemia treatment guidelines emphasize an adequate whole grains (WG) intake, alone or complementary to pharmacological treatment. We conducted this study to compare the prevalence of... more
The effects of protein intake on albuminuria in different estimated glomerular filtration rate: A population-based study
Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a serious condition associated with early mortality, decreased quality of life, and increased health-care expenditures.