October 2019
13 ArticlesNo Section
Fifty years of research on antithrombotic therapy: Achievements and disappointments
The achievements with antithrombotic therapy over the past 50 years have been monumental and the disappointments relatively few. In this review, we will discuss, chronologically, the major... more
Overlooked cases of HIV infection: An Italian tale of missed diagnostic opportunities
Major advances in antiretroviral therapy (ART) over the last 20 years have dramatically changed the natural history of HIV infection, leading to the durable suppression of viral replication and... more
Commentary
Short length of hospitalization in patients with acute heart failure entails a high risk of readmission: True or false? Insights from the LOHRCA study
Heart failure (HF) is a chronic disease with devastating consequences in terms of mortality, morbidity, health-related quality of life and healthcare costs [1]. Furthermore, several factors... more
Frailty and delirium: Unveiling the hidden vulnerability of older hospitalized patients
Frailty and delirium are two of the most problematic issues in the management of older hospitalized patients. The term frailty, from the Latin “fragilis” meaning “easily broken”, refers to a... more
Internal Medicine Flashcard
Ear pain, vesicles and facial palsy
Case presentation - A 35-year-old previously healthy man presented to the emergency department with a left-sided facial palsy (Fig 1. Panel A). Four days before, he complained of left ear pain with... more
Letter to the Editor
Worldwide epidemiology of alcohol and drugs abuse
Although there is widespread perception that the burden of alcohol and drugs abuse is relatively common around the world [1], no recent epidemiologic information has been published in support of this... more
Prevalence and risk factors associated with fatal adverse drug reactions among patients admitted at a Spanish teaching hospital
The toxicity of pharmacological treatments remains a major clinical challenge with important health implications. Best estimates from the medical and scientific literature suggest that 0.12%–0.22% of... more
Frailty and subsequent mortality in the elderly: A risk assessment
I read with great interest the paper by Zucchelli et al. [1], which is a cohort study to determine the effect of frailty on mortality in adults aged 60+ without multi-morbidity. Within the first 5 ... more
Original Article
Benefits of statins in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients with pulmonary hypertension: A meta-analysis
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) with its comorbidities is one of the five major causes of death worldwide [1]. Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a serious condition classified into five... more
Easy prognostic assessment of concomitant organ failure in critically ill patients undergoing mechanical ventilation
Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a life-threatening disease. We evaluated the prognostic utility of Model for End-stage Liver Disease excluding INR (MELD-XI) score for predicting... more
Prevalence of medication transfer errors in nephrology patients and potential risk factors
Medication reconciliation in transitions of care can prevent medication transfer errors (MTE). MTE can cause patient harm. Since performing medication reconciliation for every patient is not always... more
Review Article
Never enough recommended. Beyond the AHA/ACC guideline on lifestyle and behavior for cardiovascular prevention
“An apple a day keeps the doctor away”. But the saying seems true even once the doctor already did his job. The recent AHA/ACC guidelins on the primary prevention of cardiovascular diseases [1] and... more
Evaluation, risk stratification and management of hypertensive patients in the perioperative period
Uncontrolled hypertension represents an important cause for postponing a non-cardiac surgery. Perioperative management of hypertensive patients should focus on cardiovascular risk stratification,... more