November 2022
31 ArticlesNo Section
The Role of Adenosine and Its Degradation Enzymes – Adenosinedeaminase and Adenosinekinase in Pathogenesis of Vasovagal Syncope
Syncope is defined as a transient loss of consciousness with spontaneous recovery, typically accompanied by the loss of postural tone, that is caused by an intermittent hypoperfusion of the brain.... more
Commentary
IgA nephropathy and acute renal diseases and disorders: A puzzle waiting to be solved
IgA nephropathy (IgAN), the most frequent primary glomerulonephritis worldwide, may present with several clinical manifestations and may develop into end stage kidney disease in 30–40% of cases.
Venous thromboembolism in pancreatic cancer patients: Time to consider routine thromboprophylaxis?
Venous thromboembolism (VTE) represents a relatively common complication in patients with cancer and is associated with considerable morbidity and mortality as well as resources utilization and... more
COVID vaccine-induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia: Rare but relevant
Marietta, Coluccio, and Luppi present a comprehensive review of the current understanding and hypotheses on the mechanisms of vaccine-induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia (VITT) [1]. Although... more
Systematic screening of atrial fibrillation works, but is this our current priority?
Prevalence and incidence of atrial fibrillation (AF) increase with age, making it the most common cardiac arrhythmia in older people and a growing burden for healthcare services in developed... more
Internal Medicine Flashcard
A red herring electrocardiogram
A gentleman in his 50s presented with atypical chest pain for the last 3 months. He had no prior comorbidities. Cardiovascular system examination was unremarkable. Baseline electrocardiogram is shown... more
“Milking” the way to diagnosis
A 43-year-old non-smoker man presented to the emergency department with exertional dyspnoea and left pleuritic pain lasting for 3 days. He denied fever and cough and described a history of pulmonary... more
Letter to the Editor
The RECOVERY trial: An analysis and reflection two years on
The RECOVERY trial led the way in scientific advances during the initial stages of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic with regards to changing clinical practice [1,2]. This was a result... more
Might midodrine be useful in patients with decompensated and worsening chronic heart failure? Author's reply
We thank Fernández–Fernández et al. [1] for their interest in our manuscript [2] and for raising the question about the potential use of midodrine in patients with decompensated and worsening chronic... more
Pitfalls for blood culture diagnostic stewardship. Author's Reply
community acquired pneumonia
Might midodrine be useful in patients with decompensated and worsening chronic heart failure?
We read with interest the excellent article “ Ultrafiltration in decompensated heart failure: Is time to look forward?” by Sinagra and Fabris [1]. As the authors point out, guidelines recommend that... more
COVID-19 vaccines effect on blood pressure
Recently, with the SARS-CoV-2 vaccination campaign progress, evidence of possible alteration of blood pressure (BP) associated with vaccination has increased [1]. BP changes occurred in two... more
Inhaled triple therapy in individuals with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and indications of pulmonary rehabilitation
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a preventable and treatable disease, characterized by persistent and progressive airflow limitation, worsening reduced exercise capacity, and health-... more
Knowing the new Omicron BA.2.75 variant (‘Centaurus’): A simulation study
Dear Editor,
Influenza vaccine among patients with coronary artery disease
Infection has been proposed to be a possible risk factor for the process of atherosclerosis [1]. Influenza virus infection has been temporally associated with cardiovascular morbidity and mortality,... more
Pitfalls for blood culture diagnostic stewardship
According to Dräger S and colleagues [1], about half of the blood culture tests were not indicated according to the guidelines in a Swiss university hospital. They concluded that implementing a... more
Alzheimer's disease and increasing the uptake of influenza vaccination
Despite unequivocal research and guidelines, the uptake of influenza vaccination remains markedly suboptimal even among older adults whose risk of substantial influenza-associated morbidity and... more
Gadolinium deposition disease (GDD): Does the missing link exist? -A suggested pathologic model
Initially, gadolinium-based contrast agents (GBCAs) have been considered as inert compounds without any potential to induce adverse side effects. Now, more than three decades after their introduction... more
Causal effect of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease on atrial fibrillation
Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) includes a range of liver pathologies based on non-alcoholic fatty liver, defined by the presence of fat accumulation in more than 5% of hepatocytes by non-... more
Olmesartan-induced enteropathy: More than one entity?
Dear Editor,
Original Article
Cancer in patients with heart failure: Incidence, risk factors and prognostic impact
Heart Failure (HF) and cancer are the main causes of morbidity and mortality in developed countries [1], and their prevalence is increasing due to ageing of the population. Therefore, patients with... more
Multivessel vs. culprit-only percutaneous coronary intervention strategy in older adults with acute myocardial infarction
The optima revascularization strategy for senior patients admitted with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in the context of multivessel coronary artery disease (MVCAD) remains unclear. We aimed to... more
Epidemiology and outcome of anaerobic bacteremia in a tertiary hospital
Anaerobic bacteria make up a large part of the human bacterial flora by colonizing the skin and mucous membranes. However, they can also be opportunistic pathogens and cause serious infections in... more
Adherence to the “Atrial fibrillation Better Care” (ABC) pathway in patients with atrial fibrillation and cancer: A report from the ESC-EHRA EURObservational Research Programme in atrial fibrillation (EORP-AF) General Long-Term Registry
In recent years, the Atrial Fibrillation Better Care (ABC) pathway has been proposed as a holistic and structured approach to atrial fibrillation (AF) management [1,2]. The ABC pathway is based on... more
Angiographic and clinical outcome of SARS-CoV-2 positive patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction undergoing primary angioplasty: A collaborative, individual patient data meta-analysis of six registry-based studies
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has strongly impacted on worldwide healthcare systems with significant resources diverted to deal with this unforeseeable modern pandemic. Several reports have... more
Screening for atrial fibrillation in the elderly: A network meta-analysis of randomized trials
Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a prevalent and common treatable risk factor for ischemic stroke [1]. The prevalence of AF increases with aging. It has been estimated that the lifetime risk of AF is 1 in... more
Incidence, risk factors, and evolution of venous thromboembolic events in patients diagnosed with pancreatic carcinoma and treated with chemotherapy on an outpatient basis
Venous thromboembolic disease is considered one of the leading causes of morbi-mortality [1,2]. in oncological patients. Cancer multiplies the risk of thromboembolic events 6- or 7-fold compared to... more
IgA nephropathy with acute kidney disease: Characteristics, prognosis, and causes
The clinical manifestations and prognosis of IgA nephropathy (IgAN) are diverse. Some patients may present with kidney dysfunction lasting shorter than 3 months and meet the acute kidney disease (AKD... more
Review Article
Potential mechanisms of vaccine-induced thrombosis
COVID-19 has so deeply impacted in every aspect of the human existence that most of us in the next years will reconsider its life as “before” and “after” the pandemic. At the time of writing, more... more
Mycobacterium marinum: A brief update for clinical purposes
Incident cases of non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) are steadily increasing worldwide [1]. Among NTM, Mycobacterium marinum (M. marinum) is one of the causes of extrapulmonary mycobacterial... more
The COVID-19 pandemic – How many times were we warned before?
As the pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) continues to emerge worldwide with no country being spared [1], scientists and researchers are relentlessly looking for the origin of SARS-CoV-2... more