December 2021
28 ArticlesNo Section
VACOVEAS study, an observational survey on the adverse events associated with COVID-19 vaccines in patients with systemic autoimmune diseases
Dear Editor,
The coupling between sarcopenia and COVID-19 is the real problem
Dear Editor
Sarcopenic obesity is the real problem in COVID-19 !
Dear Editor,
Multimodal rheumatologic complex treatment in patients with spondyloarthritis - a prospective study
The spondyloarthritides (SpA) are a group of related diseases comprising axial SpA (axSpA), namely non-radiographic (nr-axSpA) and radiographic axSpA (r-axSpA), psoriatic arthritis (PsA), arthritis/... more
Future directions in obesity pharmacotherapy
Treatment of obesity remains problematic. Compared to other chronic diseases such as hypertension and type 2 diabetes, there are few pharmacological options for treating obesity: thus the treatment... more
Commentary
Personalized and tailored management of obesity at individual target brings success
Over the last decades, obesity has nearly tripled worldwide [1]. The current spread of obesity across sub-Saharan Africa and southeast Asia will end up with this condition becoming a global epidemic... more
KDIGO guidelines for the management of blood pressure in chronic kidney disease: A sprint to the curve
The KDIGO 2021 Clinical Practice Guideline for the Management of Blood Pressure in Chronic Kidney Disease has been recently released [1]. The guidelines suggest (but do not recommend) that adults... more
18F-FDG PET-CT versus contrast enhanced CT for the diagnosis of fever of unknown origin
Fever of unknown origin (FUO), also known as pyrexia of unknown origin, is commonly defined according to the Petersdorf criteria as fever ≥38.3° (101 Fahrenheit) lasting ≥3 weeks that remains... more
The importance of non-pharmacological treatment in spondyloarthritis
Spondyloarthritis (SpA) is a related group of inflammatory joint diseases comprising axial SpA (axSpA), psoriatic arthritis (PsA), arthritis associated with inflammatory bowel disease, reactive... more
Internal Medicine Flashcard
An unusual cause of heart failure
A 59 year-old lady presents to the hospital with complaints of exertional shortness of breath for the past few months. This was associated with orthopnea and lower limb swelling. On examination, she... more
Subarachnoid hemorrhage as the key to the diagnosis
A 70-year-old woman was admitted at the emergency department due to abdominal pain progressing over the last six hours. She had been feeling sick for the last month, with nausea and persistent fever... more
The truth comes out of children's mouths
A 16 year-old patient of Hawaiian ancestry was admitted for confusion in April 2018. He had no relevant past medical history except he went to the dentist few months ago for patchy darkish pigmented... more
Skin lesions, weakness, and axillary adenopathies in a 44-year-old woman
A 44-year-old woman was referred to the Internal Medicine clinic with a six months history of generalized, worsening myalgia, Raynaud's phenomenon and muscular weakness. These symptoms were... more
Letter to the Editor
Serum IgG4 level predicts COVID-19 related mortality
Dear Editor,
Beyond atrial fibrillation detection: how digital tools impact the care of patients with atrial fibrillation
The modern treatment approach to AF has evolved with the identification of frequency and duration of AF episodes. Current guidelines recommend the 4S-AF approach to AF characterization and evaluation... more
Vitamin D deficiency and inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccines
Vaccines are a critical tool in the battle against COVID-19. An amazing article regarding the effects of 2 inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccines in symptomatic COVID-19 patients, and stated that the... more
Atrial high rate episodes as a marker of atrial cardiomyopathy: In the quest of the Holy Grail
Cardiac Implantable Electronic Devices (CIEDs) with atrial lead implanted allow detection of asymptomatic atrial tachy-arrhythmias defined as Atrial High Rate Episodes (AHRE) which are found in... more
ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 effectiveness during an unprecedented surge in SARS COV-2 infections
To,
Original Article
The yield of F18 FDG PET-CT for the investigation of fever of unknown origin, compared with diagnostic CT
Fever of unknown origin (FUO) is a challenging diagnostic condition. The differential diagnosis of FUO includes a broad spectrum of highly diverse diseases which are mainly subdivided into four... more
Tocilizumab for the treatment of immune-related adverse events: a systematic literature review and a multicentre case series
Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) have been a major breakthrough in the treatment scenario of patients affected by solid cancers and haematological malignancies. First-line pembrolizumab, a... more
Impact of implementing a Choosing Wisely educational intervention into clinical practice: The CW-SIMI study (a multicenter-controlled study)
In 2012, the American Board of Internal Medicine launched the Choosing Wisely (CW) campaign [1] with the purpose of reducing inappropriate and harmful procedures in clinical practice. The CW campaign... more
Identification of chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension on CTPAs performed for diagnosing acute pulmonary embolism depending on level of expertise
Chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) is the only potentially curable form of pulmonary hypertension, but is currently underrecognized. [1, 2] CTEPH is a rare complication of acute... more
Prognostic interplay of kidney function with sarcopenia, anemia, disability and cognitive impairment. The GLISTEN study
Older patients may often be affected by several chronic conditions, including chronic kidney disease (CKD), anemia, sarcopenia and neurological disorders [1–4], that are known to contribute to... more
Systemic autoimmune disorders associated with thrombotic microangiopathy: A cross-sectional analysis from the French National TMA registry: Systemic autoimmune disease-associated TMA
The term thrombotic microangiopathy (TMA) defines a syndrome characterised by the association of a peripheral thrombocytopenia, a mechanical haemolytic anaemia and organ failure [1]. Thrombotic... more
Review Article
The pivotal link between ACE2 deficiency and SARS-CoV-2 infection: One year later
The pandemic caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) generated much interest on the basic pathogenetic mechanisms through which SARS-CoV-2 damages diverse organ... more
Surveillance and management of colorectal dysplasia and cancer in inflammatory bowel disease: Current practice and future perspectives
Almost a century ago, Crohn and Rosenberg described the first case of ulcerative colitis (UC) complicated by colorectal carcinoma (CRC). [1] Nowadays, it is widely recognised that patients with... more
Physical activity in management of persons with obesity
Physical inactivity is an important determinant of weight gain and development of obesity. Among multiple determinants of body fat gain over time, special consideration has indeed been given to... more
Mechanisms of weight regain.
Obesity is a chronic progressive disease with a high tendency to recidivism. Weight regain is frequent after any attempts of voluntary weight loss [1]. Weight regain is frequently attributed to the... more