July 2024
33 ArticlesClinical Insights
Sepsis scoring systems: Mindful use in clinical practice
Sepsis is a challenging condition: the high prevalence and the complexity of its clinical presentation lead to high morbidity and mortality. The most updated definition of sepsis and septic shock,... more
Towards precision medicine in COPD: Targeting type 2 cytokines and alarmins
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a main global epidemic increasing as population age and affecting approximately 10% of subjects over 45 years. COPD is a heterogeneous inflammatory... more
Commentary
Low-dose colchicine for chronic stable atherosclerosis: Under-appreciated and under-prescribed
In June of 2023, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the use of low dose colchicine as the first anti-inflammatory drug to treat atherosclerotic disease. Specifically, “... more
Use simple tools to improve complex conditions
"Medicine is both an art and a science; the art of listening, the art of understanding, and the art of predicting." (Hippocrates)
Artificial intelligence supported ultrasonography: Can it be the solution for early and accurate diagnosis of steatotic liver disease?
Last December, a multi-society Delphi consensus reported on the new nomenclature and definitions of fatty liver disease [1]. Accordingly, the previous terms of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (... more
Corrigendum
Corrigendum to “Systemic diseases associated with a diagnosis of achalasia: A case-control study with the All of Us research program” [European Journal of Internal Medicine 104C (2022) 125–127]
The authors regret that one of the tables in the above published article. The correct version of the table is below:
Internal Medicine Flashcard
Surfers' myelopathy
A 29-year-old Japanese man presented with bilateral weakness in the legs and low back pain. On the day of admission, the patient had gone surfing for the first time in his life and developed sudden... more
Patchy reversible renal vasoconstriction
A 24-year-old male patient presented to the emergency department with left-sided back pain and bilateral lower limb myalgia. The previous day, he was involved in a head-on motor-vehicle collision at... more
Internal Medicine Flashcards
An unexpected detour: Acute throat pain and trismus in a fast-food deliveryman
A 40-year-old man fast-food deliveryman presented to the emergency department with a severe sore throat and trismus. His-symptoms rapidly escalated over 24 h, impairing his ability to speak, eat, and... more
Letter to the Editor
Kidney function and sarcopenia: A risk assessment. Author's reply
To the Editor
Resuming antiplatelet therapy in patients with intracranial hemorrhage
More than a third of adults who experience primary intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) in high-income countries are prescribed antiplatelet medications due to similar risk factors shared with vascular... more
Polyvalent immunoglobulin use: Issues between good use, economic constraints and shortages over 25 years
Human normal polyvalent immunoglobulins (HNIg) have been widely used for the treatment of primary and secondary immune deficiencies. They also possess immunomodulatory properties and are employed in... more
A prediction model for differentiating recurrent Kawasaki disease from other febrile illnesses
Kawasaki disease (KD) can result in coronary artery aneurysms (CAA), elevating the risk of coronary artery thrombosis in the later stage [1]. Intravenous immunoglobulin within the first 10 days after... more
Long-term compliance of lipoprotein apheresis patients. What is health-related quality of life?
Clinical research and scientific evidence confirm the role of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and lipoprotein (a) [Lp(a)] as a risk factor for atherosclerosis and cardiovascular events.... more
Diagnosis traps for patients with acquired NLRP3 mutation
Cryopyrinopathies (cryopyrin-associated periodic syndrome, CAPS), also referred to as NLRP3 mutation-associated autoinflammatory diseases (NLRP3-AID), have historically been described as three... more
Antibiotic shortages in Europe: Another question of prices?
Pharmaceutical shortages are currently a worldwide issue despite advancement in manufacturing and transport technologies [1]. Surprisingly, shortages still happen in many high-income countries too... more
Changes in the Dynamic Trajectory of Remnant Cholesterol Affect the Occurrence of Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease
Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common chronic liver disease worldwide, affecting approximately 20–25 % of the global adult population [1]. Epidemiological evidence showed that,... more
Chronic limb-threatening ischemia with no revascularization option: Result from a multidisciplinary care model
Lower extremity chronic limb-threatening ischemia (CLTI) is the most advanced form of peripheral arterial disease (PAD). Historically, development of CLTI was associated with 1-year amputation rates... more
Development and validation of a clinical risk score for all-cause mortality in patients with acquired long QT syndrome
Dear editor,
Kidney function and sarcopenia: A risk assessment
I read with great interest the paper by Moreno-González et al. [1], who investigated the association between sarcopenia and kidney function in older adults, aged ≥75 years. Estimated glomerular... more
Original Article
Identifying COPD patients with poor health status and low exercise tolerance through the five-repetition sit-to-stand test and modified Medical Research Council Dyspnea Score
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a heterogeneous and systemic condition characterized by chronic respiratory symptoms (dyspnea, cough, sputum production) due to abnormalities of the... more
Clinical significance of the anti-Nucleolar Organizer Region 90 antibodies (NOR90) in systemic sclerosis: Analysis of the European Scleroderma Trials and Research (EUSTAR) cohort and a systematic literature review
The anti-Nucleolar Organizer Region 90 antibodies (NOR90) are rare antinuclear antibodies (ANA) reported in systemic sclerosis (SSc). Especially due to low prevalence, the clinical relevance of NOR90... more
Serum potassium abnormalities, renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system inhibitor discontinuation, and clinical outcomes in patients with chronic cardiovascular, metabolic, and renal conditions: A population-based analysis
The inhibition of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) is a essential aspect of the medical treatment of several chronic cardiovascular, metabolic, and renal conditions. It plays a vital... more
Sex-based differences in the comprehensive geriatric assessment in elderly hospitalized patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation
Atrial fibrillation (AF) represents the most common supraventricular arrhythmia in elderly [1]. It was estimated that 1 % to 3 % of the world population suffers from AF, with higher prevalence in the... more
The correlation of atherogenic index of plasma with non-obstructive CAD and unfavorable prognosis among patients diagnosed with MINOCA
Myocardial infarction with non-obstructive coronary arteries (MINOCA) is a complex and intriguing phenomenon with diverse underlying pathophysiological mechanisms that challenge conventional... more
Recurrence of hypertriglyceridemia-associated acute pancreatitis: A multicenter, prospective cohort study
Hypertriglyceridemia (HTG) is a well-established etiology of acute pancreatitis (AP), accounting for approximately 4.7–14.3 % of all cases globally [1,2]. Recurrent acute pancreatitis (RAP) is one of... more
Visit-to-visit blood pressure variability is associated with intrinsic capacity decline: Results from the MAPT Study
Blood Pressure (BP) values fluctuate over time around average values, as a consequence of the interaction between multiple intrinsic and environmental factors affecting the cardiovascular system [1... more
Early and accurate diagnosis of steatotic liver by artificial intelligence (AI)-supported ultrasonography
Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) refers to liver steatosis, i.e., over-storage of fat, mainly triglycerides, in the hepatocytes, without other causes for secondary hepatic fat accumulation [1... more
Prognosis of COVID-19 severity using DERGA, a novel machine learning algorithm
The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, caused by the novel coronavirus Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-related Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), has had a profound impact on healthcare systems... more
A systematic literature review of randomised controlled trials evaluating colchicine for cardiovascular prevention: There is an elephant in the room
Gout is a chronic inflammatory disease burdened by a higher CV risk compared to the general population [1] and this excess risk cannot be explained only by the prevalence of traditional risk factors... more
Review Article
Type 1 diabetes-related distress: Current implications in care
Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is a complex and demanding chronic disease characterized by a severe lack of insulin synthesis which needs to be supplied exogenously [1,2]. In this context, people living with... more
Gender-specific insights into the irritable bowel syndrome pathophysiology. Focus on gut dysbiosis and permeability
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), a chronic functional gastrointestinal disorder, manifests through recurrent episodes of abdominal pain or discomfort, coupled with variations in bowel habits... more
The impact of colchicine on patients with acute and chronic coronary artery disease
Inflammation is a major contributor in the development and progression of coronary artery disease (CAD). Preclinical studies have demonstrated that inflammatory processes, by means of specific... more