November 2024
34 ArticlesClinical Insights
Oropouche virus infection: What internal medicine physicians should know
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Internal medicine in the 21st century: Back to the future
Healthcare systems face multiple challenges arising from demographic factors (population aging) and epidemiological factors (rise of chronic diseases and patients with multimorbidity) as well as... more
Commentary
Deprescribing in reflex syncope
Reflex syncope is generally considered a benign condition. It is due to a reflex response (parasympathetic enhancement and decreased sympathetic tone) to several stimuli (e.g. micturition, defecation... more
It is time to get all the job done: For patients’ sake
Guidelines prioritize cardiovascular (CV) prevention by controlling all risk factors: this is a commitment for every healthcare professional following patients with type 2 diabetes. Not doing so... more
Unmasking eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (EGPA)
Eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (EGPA) remains a challenging diagnosis due to its rarity and heterogeneous presentation. The article by Solans-Laqué et al. represents a significant step... more
Navigating the bleeding risk dilemma in patients with atrial fibrillation on therapy with direct-acting oral anticoagulants: Comparing the HAS-BLED vs. DOAC Score
Oral anticoagulation (OAC) is pivotal in preventing stroke in atrial fibrillation (AF), but its use poses inherent risks, notably an increased susceptibility to bleeding, especially in clinically... more
Internal Medicine Flashcard
Diagnostic challenge of hemoptysis in a hemodialysis patient
A 60-year-old male with a history of chronic kidney disease (CKD) diagnosed 3 years ago, on thrice-weekly hemodialysis, presented to the emergency department with a one-month history of hemoptysis... more
Man with progressed cognitive impairment
A 69-year-old man presented to the neurology department with progressed cognitive impairment for two years. He had medical history of diabetes but without remarkable family history of dementia. On... more
Invited Review Article
Managing and discharging COPD patients hospitalized because of an exacerbation of respiratory symptoms: An opportunity to improve outcomes
Many patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) develop episodes of exacerbation of respiratory symptoms (ECOPD) that may require hospitalization (H-ECOPD). Long-term prognosis during... more
Advances in the pathophysiology, diagnosis and management of chronic diarrhoea from bile acid malabsorption: a systematic review
Excessive biosynthesis or secretion of bile acids (BAs) and their malabsorption (BAM) in the terminal ileum or the colon [1] generates chronic diarrhoea (cholorrhea). This symptom depends on a... more
Letter to the Editor
Antimicrobial therapy and patient management for severe Legionnaires’ pneumonia
Legionellosis (LD) becomes a major public health problem, predominantly presenting as Pontiac fever or pneumonia with predominance of Legionella pneumophila (Lp) throughout the world, as reported in... more
Challenges in using the clock drawing test for prognosis prediction in patients with non-specific complaints
Espejo and colleagues, using data from a prospective cross-sectional study, discovered that patients visiting the emergency department with non-specific complaints who had poor results on the Clock... more
Quinolones or macrolides for adults with Legionnaires’ disease and respiratory failure?
We recently read the systematic review entitled “Legionella pneumonia in hospitalized adults with respiratory failure: Quinolones or macrolides?” by Ruiz-Spinelli A, and Rello J published in the... more
Predictive performance of HAS-BLED, ORBIT, ABC, and DOAC scores for major bleeding in atrial fibrillation patients on DOACs
Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common type of irregular heartbeat in clinical practice. It has been found to increase the risk of ischemic stroke by 5 times. To mitigate this risk, oral... more
Clostridioides difficile infection as a potential trigger for Familial Mediterranean Fever attacks and fecal transplantation as a rescue
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Definition of an algorithm to identify patients with sickle-cell disease in the French National Health Database
Sickle cell disease (SCD) is the most frequent inherited disease with monogenic transmission (300,000 newborns per year in the world) [1]. SCD is due to a mutation on both alleles of the gene coding... more
Navigating the challenges: Would onboarding bootcamps enhance comfort and wellbeing of residents in medicine?
Medical interns (first-year residents) and residents (second-to fourth-year residents) in France are junior medical staff in charge of overseeing up to 200 medicine beds during night shifts, with no... more
Dual tobacco smoking, electronic cigarette use and COVID-19 outcomes
We congratulate Scala and colleagues on the publication of their paper on electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) use and Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) outcomes [1]. Scala et al. focused on e-... more
Survival analysis of diabetes cardiovascular outcome trials using reconstructed Kaplan-Meier curves
The management of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) has witnessed a treatment paradigm in the light of recent cardiovascular outcomes trials (CVOTs) which have placed more emphasis on cardiovascular... more
Multi-organ abnormalities assessed by a single MRI scan in individuals with blood cancer
During the COVID-19 pandemic individuals with all blood cancers were classified as clinically vulnerable and at high risk of complications and death. Our study sought to determine if individuals with... more
The association between long-acting muscarinic antagonist-based therapy and the risk of urinary tract infection in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a common respiratory disease featuring persistent respiratory symptoms and progressive airflow limitation. Long-acting muscarinic antagonists (LAMAs)... more
Self-publishing in the history of medicine: The paradoxical case of Edward Jenner's science-changing monograph (1798)
According to the Cambridge Dictionary, self-publishing is regarded as the act of arranging or paying for one's ‘own book to be published, rather than having it done by a publisher’ [1]. Whether it be... more
Original Article
Long-term inhaled corticosteroid treatment in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cardiovascular disease, and a recent hospitalised exacerbation: The ICSLIFE pragmatic, randomised controlled study
Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are typically older [1], and have multiple comorbidities, including heart failure, ischaemic heart disease, and arrhythmias [2–5]. The... more
Performance of HAS-BLED and DOAC scores to predict major bleeding events in atrial fibrillation patients treated with direct oral anticoagulants: A report from a prospective European observational registry
Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common arrhythmia worldwide and it is associated with a 3–5-fold higher risk of stroke [1]. This risk has been significantly reduced after the introduction of... more
Metabolic health and genetic predisposition in inflammatory bowel disease: Insights from a prospective cohort study
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), encompassing Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC), is a chronic inflammatory disease of the gastrointestinal tract driven by an inappropriate and... more
Red flags for clinical suspicion of eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (EGPA)
Eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (EGPA), formerly known as Churg-Strauss syndrome [1], is a systemic vasculitis classified as an anti-neutrophil cytoplasm antibody (ANCA)-associated... more
Beta-cell function and glucose metabolism in patients with chronic pancreatitis
Diabetes of the exocrine pancreas (DEP), - also defined as pancreatic, pancreatogenic, or type 3c diabetes - arises from the structural or functional loss of insulin secretion secondary to exocrine... more
Diagnosis of acute aortic syndromes with ultrasound and d-dimer: the PROFUNDUS study
Acute aortic syndromes (AASs), including aortic dissection (AD), intramural aortic haematoma (IMH) and penetrating aortic ulcer (PAU), affect 5–7/100,000 individuals/year [1]. They are time-dependent... more
A group-based intervention for diabetes-related emotional distress among emerging adults with type 1 diabetes: A pilot study
Emerging adulthood is a critical period with increased risk of acute and chronic health complications, psychological problems, and psychosocial issues for emerging adults with type 1 diabetes (T1D) [... more
Relationship between degree of risk factor control and all-cause mortality in individuals with type 2 diabetes: A prospective cohort study
Risk of death is approximately twice higher in people with diabetes than in those without, mainly though not exclusively due to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) [1]. However, death... more
Association between socioeconomic and psychosocial factors with use of interventional and surgical treatments and outcomes in patients with myocardial infarction – Inpatient data of the largest European health care system
Myocardial infarction (MI) remains a leading contributor for morbidity and mortality worldwide [1,2]. While the medical progress regarding diagnostic and therapeutic approaches has improved outcomes... more
Targets for deprescribing in patients with hypertension and reflex syncope
In hypertensive patients with reflex syncope, detection of transient hypotension as possible trigger mechanism of syncope may prompt deprescribing of hypotensive medications to counteract the risk of... more
Early palliative care program in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis patients favors at-home and hospice deaths, reduces unplanned medical visits, and prolongs survival: A pilot study
Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF) is a relentlessly progressive fibrotic interstitial lung disease (ILD) with an unfavourable prognosis1. The median survival is 3 to 5 years form the time of... more
Review Article
Exploring Cardiovascular Risk Factors and Atherosclerosis in Rheumatoid Arthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory disease affecting the synovium of the joints, leading to joint destruction and bone damage. It affects 0, 5–1 % of the general population,... more